The Choices They Have Made
by Penguin King
Summary: Ash and company have been brought to the attention of Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket. He has decided that it is time for their interference with his plans to stop. First Fic, and will contain Pokeshipping. You have been warned.
1. To Wake a Sleeping Beast

Author's Note: Hey all you people out there. How are you doing? I'm the Penguin King, and I'll be the one writing this story today. Now, please have a little patience, as this is my first fanfic ever. I have a general outline of what I want to do with the story, but this is just the first chapter. And, since I am a Pokeshipper, so will this fic. Probably not a whole lot of shipping until a few chapters in, but who knows? I might find a way to squeeze it in sooner. Alright. (looks at keyboard. Cracks knuckles) Here we go!

----

"Here are the reports you wanted, sir," a man said as he entered the office room, his arms full with boxes of papers and files. Behind him, in the hallway, was another three dollies stacked with boxes. It wasn't a large office, but neither was it small. It was comfortable in size, deceiving of the man who would own such an office. And though it even looked very common, as far as such places go, there was something unnerving about it, something almost sinister. Deception is the one rule that this man lived by. Seem harmless, be brutal.

There was no response. All the man could see was the back of a large chair behind the desk, and the cityscape outside the wall of windows. A clock ticked on the wall, counting away the seconds. Tick, tick, tick, tick. His arms were starting to quiver slightly under the weight of the paper. "Sir?" he asked again, hoping for a response.

"Set them on my desk," a smooth, silky voice said.

"All of them, sir?"

The chair squeaked as it turned around. The man with the boxes started to sweat, and it had nothing to do with the weight in his arms. There sat one of the most powerful men on the planet, the president of Team Rocket, Giovanni.

Giovanni set his elbows on his desk, leaning forward, and crossing his hands under his chin. "How many reports are there?" he asked, a puzzled expression on his face. The delivery man opened the door wider to show the dollies full of boxes, as well as the boxes in his own arms. Giovanni's expression didn't change at all. He sat for a moment, staring at the boxes of papers. Tick, tick, tick, tick. He turned around again to look outside the window. "Set them next to my desk, then take that dolly out with you."

The man quietly went to work, unloading the boxes of papers. He stacked them so that the oldest ones were closest to Giovanni and on the top. When he was finished, he rolled the dolly out of the office and left, going back to the report room to return the dolly. He let out a shaky breath, now that he was outside. That man scared him. Maybe it was the emotionless tone of voice he used. Maybe it was the constant calm. Maybe it was the knowledge of what Giovanni could do. Whatever it was, he was glad to be out of there. He did, however, pity the person those reports were about.

----

Giovanni sat silent for a while after the grunt had left, staring out the window, and thinking about the boxes of reports. They had only recently come to his attention. How they could have gone unnoticed for so long was beyond him. Incompetent staff, probably. He made a mental note to give the person who brought this to his attention a promotion. All the reports were about a man and his pokemon. Or, more specifically, a group of people and their pokemon. It seemed like these people followed Team Rocket everywhere, foiling all of his important plans. He had heard the excuses of his agents, and had summarily dismissed them from his services. After all, how was it even possible that a group of young trainers could best his most elite agents? They didn't know that he had dismissed them, of course. He just sent them out on another mission, and sent an anonymous tip to the authorities as to where they were and what they were doing. They would be held for a good, long time.

Two days ago, however, a new junior member of Team Rocket had asked his supervisor where to find another file box, as the others in that category were filled. The supervisor had thought it a good idea to show the new member how to properly make room in existing boxes. When he found that it was a file about another trainer, he laughed at the newcomers' inexperience. Insisting that he must have looked in the wrong room, the supervisor went to the files of trainers Team Rocket had run into over the years. No trainer had done enough harm against team rocket to require even one full box, let alone several. The supervisor was shocked when he found stacks of boxes about this one trainer: Ash Ketchum. The supervisor immediately brought it to the attention of Giovanni directly, not wanting to waste time with intermediaries. This trainer warranted the attention of the highest echelons of Team Rocket.

Before, Giovanni would have laughed at the excuse of a child foiling missions. Now, however, he was willing to examine what had been said about these…children who had disrupted his plans. Time after time he had come close to complete domination. Millions had been spent over the years. Millions that were forever lost. If Giovanni found the reports consistent, he would make these trainers pay heavily for what had been done to him.

Turning around, Giovanni pushed the button on the intercom to his secretary. "Heather, reschedule all my appointments for the next week and take messages on all my calls. Make up something to tell them, I don't care what."

"Right away, sir," came the prompt response.

Giovanni had a lot of reading to do. Pulling the first box onto his desk, he pulled out the very oldest report and began reading, taking notes on a legal pad on the side. He didn't trust his incompetent paper pushers to sift through this. They couldn't be trusted to bring something like this to his attention. They certainly couldn't be trusted to find the truth behind all of this. There had to be a mistake in this somewhere. Somewhere…..

----

The majority of the reports came from two very low ranking field agents, Jesse and James. They had followed this group of trainers from day one, hoping to capture this trainers Pikachu. They claimed that this Pikachu was strong, unusually strong. Several of their claims seemed impossible. It sends them flying hundreds of feet with a single thunderbolt. It generates enough electricity to overcome specially designed electrical insulators. It has defeated multiple Raichu, several Ground-type pokemon, and was even able to use a Thunder attack to form a sort of armor around itself. The more he read their claims, the more he thought they were making up stories to justify their expenses and losses.

But there were other reports from more reliable field agents. Anne and Oakly. Butch and Cassidy. Agent after agent said with earnest conviction that this Pikachu was out of the ordinary, that it was special. Once or twice speculations were made as to its strength if it ever evolved. If it was this powerful now….

And this one trainer alone had seen almost every legendary pokemon that Giovanni could think of. Mew on several occasions, Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Celebi, Regice, Registeel, Regirock, Regigigas, Latias, Latios, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Cresselia, Darkrai, Shaymin. The list was enormous. And somehow, for some reason, this trainer got sucked up into every major plan Team Rocket had come up with since the first file on him was reported.

He looked at the names. Ash Ketchum, Brock Slate, Misty Waterflower, May Haruka, Max Haruka, and Dawn Hikari. As each name had come up on his searching, he had ordered a discreet background check on all of them.

Ash. A trainer from Pallet Town in Kanto, and a close friend of Professor Oak. His mother, Delia, still lived in Pallet Town. His father, unknown name and location. Presumed deceased by many.

Brock. Former Gym Leader of Pewter City. Currently attempting to become a known pokemon breeder. Father Flint and mother Lola currently living in Pewter with nine children, all younger than Brock.

Misty. Former companion of Ash and Brock. Current Gym Leader of Cerulean City. Three sisters, all older, Lily, Daisy, and Violet. Parents presumed deceased.

May. Pokemon Coordinator of some renown. Father is Norman, a gym leader in the Hoenn region. Mother Caroline, home maker.

Max. Younger brother of May. Pokemon Trainer.

Dawn. Pokemon Coordinator of some renown, currently traveling with Ash and Brock. Mother, Johanna, former Coordinator of great renown. Father unknown, presumed deceased.

Giovanni also had a list of all pokemon possessed by each trainer, as well as what pokemon they were currently using. Looking at the list for the umpteenth time, he couldn't help but be amazed. Of all of Ashes pokemon, very few of them were evolved. Most of them were at the first stage. Either they were insanely powerful specimens of their breed, or his agents were poor strategists. Looking at the incompetence of his office workers, he was willing to bet it was a bit of both.

After finally sifting through years of papers on this group of people, he decided he needed some fresh information. Pushing away from his desk, Giovanni ruffled through a drawer before finally pulling out a bottle of advil. Leaning back in his chair, he put two in his mouth and swallowed them with some water he had on his desk. He took a few breaths, collecting his thoughts. He leaned forward and pressed the button to talk to his secretary. "Heather, send a recall order to Jesse and James in the Sinnoh region. Tell them that they are to drop everything and come immediately to the Kanto headquarters. Give them the password and location to the airfield. Have Deakon fly them in one of the stolen military jets and destroy it afterwards."

"Yes sir. Anything else?"

"Send a message web to the Sinnoh Pokecenters that Ash Ketchum and Brock Slate are needed in Cerulean City ASAP, and to the Hoenn Pokecenters that May and Max Haruka are to find Ash in Cerulean City. There has been an emergency. Don't specify the emergency, just say that there is one. And have them prepare my jet in the airfield. I need to get to the Kanto headquarters and wait for Jesse and James."

"I'll do it right away sir. If I may ask, what's going on? Your clients aren't very happy."

"This is a top priority assignment, Heather. There is a growth that has been left unchecked for too long. It's time that I removed it." He let go of the intercom button and picked up his office phone. He had some calls to make while he waited for the plane. With any luck, Jesse and James would be able to fly in sometime tomorrow. He didn't expect the others to arrive in Cerulean in less than three days.

Dialing quickly, he listened to the phone ring. A woman picked up on the opposite end. "Rachel's Flower Boutique, this is Rachel, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for some Chinese Fire Rockets. Do you carry any?" Chinese Fire Rockets. The activation phrase for his sleeper cells. He had hundreds, scattered across the globe. All he needed to do was utter the activation phrase, and they would do his bidding without question.

"What can I do for you sir?"

"I need you to organize several simultaneous abductions."

"How many, where, and when?"

"One in Twinleaf Town, Johanna Hikari. Two in Pettleburg, Norman and Caroline Haruka. Three in Cerulean, Violet, Daisy, and Lily Waterflower. Eleven in Pewter, Flint and Lola Slate, along with their nine children. One in Pallet Town, Delia Ketchum."

"So many sir? When do you want this done by?"

"You have two days to organize and execute the plan. I need them detained simultaneously and transported to Our base in Sinnoh. Failure will result in termination. Am I understood?"

"Yes Sir. Your orders will be executed as directed."

"Carry on."

"Right away sir."

Giovanni let out a sigh as he hung up the phone. His secretary beeped him. "Your plane is ready for transport, sir."

"Very good. Have my car ready when I get outside. And have Patrick and Jane come with me."

"Yes sir."

Picking up his coat, he headed out the door. This was going to end, one way or another.

----

Secret messages went out around the world. Team Rocket was going to kidnap and detain eighteen people in their base in Snowpoint City. Their targets were well known and potentially dangerous. Plans were made. Letters were forged. Sleeper cells were awoken, and given instructions.

----

At the same time, other messages were sent to pokecenters in the Hoenn and Sinnoh Regions. They were traps for their victims, waiting to be sprung. These children had prodded a sleeping beast. Now, it had woken up, and they must face the consequences of their actions.

AN: Okay, so I know that the chapter wasn't a whole lot. But it's setting up for more stuff down the line. Please bare with me and be patient. And there hasn't been any pokeshipping yet, but there will be! I swear! Please review with likes and dislikes. And also, if the timeline of events seems unrealistic, it is because the story itself is a work of fiction and I as the author have the right to bend the laws of space and time. Criticism is welcome, as long as it's constructive. Again, this is my first fic. Penguin King, out!


	2. Assembling the Players

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, the game of chess, Snickers, Blockbusters, or Publix.

-----

Ash looked at the battlefield carefully, considering all his options. This next move could mean either victory, or defeat. It had been a long battle, and hard fought on both sides. It had been costly, but worth it. Ash had the high ground, and was pressing the attack. He could almost taste victory. Then, suddenly, he knew what he had to do. He had his opponent right where he wanted her. The pieces of the puzzle clicked, and now he couldn't lose.

Picking up his bishop, he moved the piece diagonally along the white places before setting it down. "Check!" he cried out triumphantly.

Dawn looked up from her magazine to gaze upon the board. Turning back to her magazine, she picked up her knight and took Ash's bishop. "Checkmate," she said, almost bored.

"What?! How is that checkmate? I can move my king here!"

Dawn didn't even look at the board. "No you can't. My rook's there," she said, pointing a finger at the edge.

"What about here?"

"Queen"

"Here?"

"Knight again."

"Here?"

"Pawn."

Ash growled in frustration. This was the fifth game in a row he had lost to Dawn. He hated losing. "I want another rematch," he said in a low voice.

"Pikapi," said Pikachu, tugging at Ash's pant leg. Ash looked down, and saw Pikachu shaking his head, as if saying "Don't even try."

"Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see you do better. She's like a master at this game."

"Pika," Pikachu said, shrugging his shoulders. He jumped up onto Ash's lap and started pulling the pieces back into place. Once the board was arranged, Pikachu turned the board so that he was black. "Pikachu!" he said.

Dawn set down her magazine and moved her first piece. Ash watched as the pieces of the board advanced on each other, both vying for the middle ground, the high ground. It was a long, intricate dance of strategy and coordination, executing plans of attack as well as mounting defenses. Chess, the ultimate game of strategy and psychology. Finally, after a half hour of battling, the last piece was placed.

"Checkmate," Dawn called, placing her bishop to stop the last line of escape. She reached out across the table. "Good game, Pikachu."

"Pika!" he cried, shaking Dawn's hand.

"See?" Ash said. "You lost too."

"Yeah, but just barely," Dawn said in Pikachu's defense. "If I hadn't sacrificed my queen over on the far side of the board to draw away that rook, I would have lost."

"A loss is still a loss, no matter by how much."

"Pikachu's a whole lot better than you at this game, Ash. I bet you would lose to him too."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."

Dawn stood up. "Fine, suit yourself." She moved away from the chair and gestured towards it. "He's all yours, Pikachu."

"Pika!" Pikachu hopped down, scurried over to the now vacant chair, and jumped up. "Pikapi, pi ka pika chu."

"Fine, you're on!" Ash said in reply to the challenge. The board was set and the battle was on.

Dawn wandered over to where Brock was looking at a map, plotting their course through the lands of Sinnoh. "How far are we to the closest Pokecenter Brock? I could use a real shower."

Brock didn't look up from the map. "Should be there in a half hour, if we can get Ash away from that game. How did you hook him on chess, anyways? He doesn't have the patience to sit down for any more than fifteen minutes unless it involves Pokémon."

Dawn shrugged. "I convinced him that it would help him with battling strategy."

Brock chuckled. "Clever." He looked over at Ash playing with Pikachu and smiled at their antics. Dawn turned to look at them too. However, her eyes went to the little fishing lure he had set on the table for good luck.

"Brock, I have a question for you."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Why doesn't he let anyone touch that fishing lure?"

He thought for a moment, looking at the lure. "That's a little complicated. Why are you asking me, and not him?"

"I have. Whenever I ask about it, he gets all broody and glum. You know he keeps it in his shirt pocket, right over his heart?" Brock nodded knowingly. "He brings it with him everywhere," she continued. "Sometimes, before a battle, I see him take it out and look at it. Then he says something like 'Help me, Misty,' and puts it back in his pocket."

Brock cocked an eyebrow at her. "You've seen all this, and you can't figure it out?"

"Well….It's just that, you know…. It's been so long. Hasn't he gotten over her? I mean, I understand keeping a keepsake from old flames, but isn't it time that he took that thing and chucked it in a river or something?"

Brock looked at her. "And why do you care so much about Ash's personal life?" he asked in an odd tone.

Dawn couldn't help but blush a little. "Well, I…you know, he's my friend. I care about him. I don't want him to stay hurt." Piplup came waddling up to Dawn. She bent down and picked her up, holding the little blue Pokémon to her chest. She looked back at the little lure on the table. "I want to help him, is all." She wouldn't admit to Brock that she liked Ash. Really liked him. Sure, he was a little immature at times, and all he really thought about was Pokémon battling, but there was an innocent quality to him that she found endearing, and his tenacity to see through with everything made him dependable.

Brock stared at her for a while before going back to the map. "If we stay on this road, we'll come to a pokecenter pretty soon."

Dawn buried her face in Piplup's downy feathers. "That's good."

Over at the table, Pikachu let out a triumphant "Kachu!"

Ash stared at the little yellow mouse for a long while before finally hanging his head in defeat. "I give up. Let's call it a day with this game." He turned the board upside down and started putting the pieces into the opening on the bottom, then folded it closed. He walked over to Dawn and slid it in her bag. "Are you guys ready?"

"We've been waiting on you, Ash," Dawn replied, letting a little exasperation into her voice."

"Fine, fine, let's get going." He walked back over to the table and grabbed the lure, stuffing it into his pocket before breaking down the table to be carried. Brock and Dawn started out, knowing Ash would catch up in a few seconds.

"You know," Brock said to Dawn in a low voice, "Ash may be denser than a neutron star, but I'm not."

Dawn blushed, but hid it in Piplup. "Pip!" the little penguin called out in surprise. "I don't know what you're talking about, Brock. You must be imagining things."

"Maybe if you met Misty, you'd understand."

_I certainly hope I don't meet her_, Dawn thought to herself.

It wasn't long after this that Ash caught up with them, Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. He was still grumbling about his loss to the yellow mouse. Dawn rolled her eyes. "Come on Ash, you can't be a sore loser. You just need to practice more and try again."

He still pouted. "I guess," he agreed reluctantly. He shook his head to clear his thoughts of the last game. "How long is it to that Pokecenter?"

"Not long," Brock replied as they started up a small hill. "Should be there in a half hour or so." They cleared the top of the hill, and there was the Pokecenter. Ash and Dawn turned to look at him. He let out a nervous laugh. "Hey, what do you know, that last half hour flew by, didn't it?"

Dawn walked over and snatched the map out of his bag. "I can't believe that we haven't gotten lost more with this bozo leading the way."

"Oh, so I'm not allowed to make one mistake every now and then?"

"No. You need to be perfect with maps. Like me."

"You? Perfect? Don't make me laugh."

Ash left the two to argue. They didn't even seem to notice that he had left them. "You know," he said to Pikachu. "I think Dawn has a thing for Brock. What do you think?"

Pikachu brought his paw up to his forehead and shook his head, saying "Pikapi," in a long-suffering tone.

He walked into the Pokecenter to find Nurse Joy behind the counter. "Welcome," she said with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"Good afternoon Nurse Joy," Ash said cheerfully as he walked up to the counter. He pulled over one of the trays for Pokeballs and set his in the slots. "Could you give my Pokémon a once over for me? We've had a long trek through the woods." He slid his Pokedex into the little slot in front of the counter, to bring up his trainer registry for the Nurse.

She smiled. "Sure thing Mister Ketchum." A small envelope in the bottom right corner of her screen blinked on and off. "Oh, and you have a message." She turned the screen to him and clicked the button to open the message.

_It's probably Mom wanting me to call her_, Ash thought. He read the message. Then re-read it. Then read it again, hoping the words would change. They didn't.

From: Officer Jenny, 12th precinct, Cerulean City

To: Ash Ketchum

Subject: Report to Cerulean City ASAP

Message:

There has been an accident, and your presence is requested in Cerulean City as soon as possible. Please go to the Gym upon your arrival so that you can be updated on the situation.

End.

He stood, stunned. It was as if his mind had frozen, stuck in shock, the color drained from his face. He didn't hear when Brock and Dawn came into the Pokecenter. Didn't hear when they asked what he was looking at, or when they asked what was wrong. They in turn read the message. Then, his brain started moving again. Gears clicked, turning at a high speed, thinking, allowing variables to be accounted for. He needed to get to Cerulean fast. They were nowhere near an airport, but flying was the fastest way. The closest airport in Sinnoh was in Hearthome City. It would take days to get there, and then another day to fly to Celadon, and at least two days from there to Cerulean. There had to be a faster way. Then it clicked. There was a faster way.

Ignoring Brock and Dawn, he ran to the video phone in the Pokecenter. He quickly dialed Professor Oak. He waited impatiently while the phone rang. Tracy picked it up. "Hey Ash, what's up?"

"Tracy, good. I need you to get to the Viridian Forest as soon as possible and find my Pidgeot. I'm sending you two Pokémon, and I need you to send Pidgeot here as soon as you get him."

"Okay Ash," he said obediently. He could tell that something was wrong, and didn't need an explanation. "I can send him to you by tonight."

Ash knew that Tracy would do what he said. "Thanks, Tracy. I'm sending over Gliscor and Grotyle as soon as I get them back from Nurse Joy."

"Got it," Tracy replied, and hung up.

Ash hung up the phone, then picked it up and dialed another number. "Hey Ash!" the voice said in delight, before a picture of Liza showed up on screen.

"Liza! Good, you're there. Listen, I need Charizard ASAP. Where is he?"

"He and Charla won't be back until tomorrow morning. Why, what's wrong?"

"I need to fly to Cerulean City."

"Ash, Charizard's a good flyer, but he'll die of exhaustion before you make it that far."

"I know, I'm flying to the airport in Hearthome, taking that to Celadon, then flying again to Cerulean. I'm hoping to be there inside four days. Look, I don't really have time to explain. Send him when he comes back?"

"Sure thing," she said before Ash hung up. Brock and Dawn were trying to talk to him, but he didn't listen. This was too important. Now he had Staraptor, Charizard, and Pidgeot to fly the three of them to Hearthome. They'd rest the day it took them to fly to Celadon, and then fly to Cerulean the next day. Unless there was a storm, they would be there soon. He had one more call to make though.

The phone rang once more. Ash's mom popped up on the screen. "Ash! Honey, what's wrong?" she asked, seeing the distraught look on her son's face.

"Mom, you know all the money I've been sending you to hold on to for me, in case I need it?"

"What do you need?" she asked, concern growing.

"I need to get to Cerulean City fast. Can you buy three plane tickets from Hearthome to Celadon on the first flight Thursday morning?" _It's Tuesday today. It'll take all day tomorrow to get to Hearthome. Thursday should be fine_.

"I will. Ash, what's going on?"

"I don't really have time to explain right now, Mom. I'll tell you when I have time."

"Okay. I'll buy the tickets and have Professor Oak transfer them onto your Pokedex. Good luck son."

"Thanks, Mom," he said before hanging up.

He hung his head for a moment, thinking about what was going on. Misty was in trouble, and he needed to get there to help her. He only hoped he was on time.

The present came back to Ash. Brock was looking worried, Dawn scared and upset. He didn't see the hint of jealousy on her face.

"Ash," Brock said. "What are you doing? Calm down and think for a second. I know you're worried about Misty, but maybe you're jumping the gun a bit. Didn't you think to call and check on her before you fly all the way over there?"

"Yeah, Ash," Dawn commented. "Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding."

"Piplup," Piplup said, agreeing with Dawn.

He didn't say anything for a while. Ash closed his eyes and turned back to the phone. He felt like such an idiot. He should have done that in the first place. He wasn't thinking straight, and Pikachu was with Nurse Joy, or he would have reminded Ash to call Misty first. With a trembling hand, he picked up the phone and dialed the number for the Cerulean Gym.

The phone rang once, twice, three times, four times. Then, someone picked up. Ash was confronted with a grieving Daisy, one of Misty's older sisters. "H-h-hello?" she asked through the tears. The blood drained from Ashe's face.

"Daisy, is Misty there?"

"N-n-n-no. Sh-sh-she's g-gone!" With the last word she burst into a fresh bout of tears.

"No, no no. She can't be gone! Tell her to hold on, that I'm coming. I'll be there soon. I'll be there in three days. Tell her to hold on until then!."

Daisy sniffled and nodded, and then hung up.

Ash turned to Brock in a rage. "See?! Something bad happened, and I need to be there."

Brock said nothing, and nodded in acquiescence. Dawn hugged Piplup to her chest. The little blue bird turned in her arms to give her a hug.

Ash calmed down a little. "Look, I have Staraptor with me. Pidgeot and Charizard are on their way. The three of us are going to fly to Hearthome city, where I have tickets waiting to take us to Celadon. Then we're going to fly to Cerulean. I really need you guys with me. Please, I…I need friends with me."

"We're here for you Ash," Dawn told him, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Thanks guys." A gloom descended on the group of friends. A dear friend was in trouble, and they were going to be there to help her through it.

-----

Misty walked into the front door of the gym, only to be tackled by a wailing Daisy. "Daisy, what's wrong?" Misty asked as she sat up.

"D-d-d-derick. He, he, he, he broke up with me! In a text!" She cried all the more.

Misty stood up and pulled the crying Daisy to her feet and gave her a hug. "There there, it's okay. Come on, let's go get Lily and Violet, find ourselves a tub of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, and rent some movies. We'll have ourselves a girls night. How does that sound?"

Daisy sniffled. "C-could we get Snickers ice cream instead?"

Misty smiled. "Of course we can. Come on, go get the car keys. We need to head over to Blockbuster, and then Publix."

Daisy nodded and went off to get her coat and the keys. Misty went to the phone on the wall and called Lily. She was with Violet, so she could talk to them both. The picture on the wall came up. "Hey Misty," said Lily in surprise. "What's up little sis?"

"I just got back to the gym. Derick broke up with Daisy. Can you believe it?"

"No! I liked Derick. Violet, Derick broke up with Daisy."

"Finally. I hated the little jerk," Violet said in the background.

"Anyways," Misty continued, "I'm taking her to get ice cream and a movie. Can you guys come back? Our sister needs us."

"Yeah, we'll be back right away. Bye."

"Bye." Misty hung up. It was then that Daisy came back. "You ready to go?" she asked.

Daisy tossed the keys to Misty. "Can you drive? I'll probably wreck us."

"Sure thing." They both walked out and got into their blue car.

They were five minutes out when Daisy suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I just remembered. Ash called while you were gone."

The shock of Daisy's message made Misty swerve into oncoming traffic. A truck honked his horn at her as she swerved back into her lane. She quickly checked her mirrors for cops. There weren't any.

"Maybe I should have driven after all," Daisy mumbled.

"Ash?" she asked incredulously? "As in, Ash Ketchum? My Ash?" Daisy nodded. "When did he call? What did he say?" Misty leveled a glare at Daisy. "What did you tell him? Did you say anything about Adam? Because I swear, if you did…"

"Adam? Who's Adam?"

Misty turned her eyes back on the road. "He's that trainer who's always coming by. He has a little crush on me."

"Oh." Daisy looked out at the road.

Misty endured the silence for a couple seconds. "Well?" she finally asked. "What did he say?"

"Oh yeah," Daisy said. "He asked for you, and I said you weren't there. Then he said he'd be here in three days."

"Three days?!" Misty yelled. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

Daisy sniffed. "I was a little distracted at the time."

Misty shook her head as she pulled into the parking lot. "I swear, you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached."

They got out of the car and started for the Blockbuster. Movies first, ice cream second. That way the ice cream didn't have to melt in the car while you got a movie. They were almost at the door when someone called for them.

"Misty! Daisy!"

They turned around to find Derick. Daisy stiffened. She looked at the man coming at them, and she loosened back up, a deadly gleam in her eye. She walked to Derick. She held out her left hand to stop him. He came to a stop at the end of her fingers. Without any warning, she brought around her right hand in an open handed slap, putting the weight of her body, the weight of her anger and fury, and the weight of her sorrow behind it. Derick had no idea what was coming and took the full force of the slap. He fell to the ground, dazed. Daisy caught back up with Misty and then walked into Blockbuster. A few people went to Derick's aid and helped him up.

"Feel better?" Misty asked.

Daisy nodded. "Sure do."

Misty was happy for her sister, but had worries of her own. Ash was coming. In three days. She had a lot of shopping and cleaning to do…

-----

Patrick and Jane laughed at the sight. The poor boy Derick had no idea what had just happened.

"That was pretty funny," Jane said to Patrick. "What did that text say to make her so mad?"

"Oh, you know, that she was a cheating whore and he never wanted to come within smelling distance of her again." He chuckled in remembrance. They had received their orders from Giovanni yesterday. They had spent that whole day trying to find the best way to keep Ash from finding out that Misty wasn't hurt. Their plan had worked flawlessly.

Jane hit Patrick lightly on the arm. "You're horrible." She smiled. "I love it."

Patrick dropped Derick's phone into a sewer grate, and picked up his own ringing phone. "Hello? Yes. Understood." He hung up and turned to Jane. "Ash is on his way here with his friends."

Jane turned back to surveying the crowd. "Everything was according to plan." She smiled maliciously. Everything was according to plan…..

------

Authors Note: Wow, that was a fun one to write. And so the plot thickens… Please review. And tell your friends about it too!


	3. Into the Wild Blue Yonder

Disclamer: So, does anyone watch The Mentalist? No? Well, I do. I didn't realize until I finished writing this that my Team Rocket pair, Patrick and Jane, when you combine them, you get the main character of The Mentalist, Patrick Jane. So, just to clarify this, it was coincidental that the terribly intricate plot was devized by Patrick and Jane. I don't own Pokemon or any of their characters/creatures, nor do I own The Mentalist. Those belong to Nintendo and CBS respectively.

-------------

A cool breeze wafted up the shore from the ocean. May felt goose bumps on her legs as the wind brushed by her, but they soon went away from the warmth of the sun. She lay on a towel at the Slateport beach, back in her home region of Hoenn, tanning before the Pokémon contest in a few days. This was a big one, too. Winning this would ensure her place in the Grand Festival this year in Hoenn. She was confident she would win, too.

_Maybe I should call up Ash and invite him?_ She thought to herself, not realizing it. As soon as she heard her thought, though, she shook her head, as if to dislodge the offending idea. She turned over onto her stomach, so her back could tan. Reaching behind her back, May undid the tie of her bikini, so as not to get a tan line. Her competition dress was backless, after all. _What am I thinking? Ash wouldn't come all the way here for a contest. He's training and battling gyms in Sinnoh. With Dawn…_ She shook her head again. Dawn was a nice girl. A little young, yes, but otherwise very nice. Even though she HAD beaten May at the Wallace Cup.

May lay on her stomach, trying to think other thoughts than Ash with that little slu… girl. That little girl. She wasn't doing very well, but she was trying. _Not that Ash would ever do anything with her,_ May thought bitterly. _I was with him for forever, and he didn't make a single move. Not one single attempt. Sometimes I thought I'd have to strip in front of him to notice anything except Pokémon! _She blushed at the idea. She wouldn't go that far…she though. May had never met a more frustrating man in her life, though. Ash Ketchum, the world's densest man.

May kept charging down this line of thought. _And not only that, but he kept that stupid lure in his pocket the entire time I knew him. I ask you, what does Misty have that I don't?_

_Red hair,_ another piece of her mind replied. May chuckled a little. _A side pony. _May laughed a little more, smiling. Misty still thought that side ponies were in. She was a little behind the times when it came to fashion. _A Pokémon Gym._ That stopped all laughter dead in its tracks. _A love of Pokémon that didn't have to be taught to her. A similar goal._

_A history with Ash._

May stopped the mental list. _No, he LEFT her behind when he came to Hoenn. Something had to have happened between them. They aren't together. They may have been at one point, but not anymore. She probably broke up with him, and he's keeping that lure as a keepsake. Yeah, that has to be it. Something to remind him of the good times._

_But then, why were they so nice to each other when they met again?_

May gripped her head in confusion. She didn't know what to think. _And why did he leave me behind when he went to Sinnoh? Why did he leave me, for Dawn?_ May knew she wasn't thinking very rationally, but she couldn't help it. That's what it seemed like to her.

_Or maybe he's just as lecherous as Brock. Picks up a new girl with every region he visits. But then why doesn't he do anything?_ May didn't know what to think anymore. So instead of thinking about Ash, she thought instead about the upcoming contest. She was going to win it, then go on to the Grand Festival and win that! That would show them all; Ash, Brock, Misty….DAWN.

May ground her teeth in anger. She had only met the girl once, but she had stolen HER spotlight to look good in front of Ash. She had beaten her pride Glaceon with a little Piplup! _Pipsqueak is more like it._ She let the thoughts of rage and revenge lull her into a sort of mental calm, where she didn't think anything. It was almost like being asleep, except she was aware of everything around her. She felt the warmth of the sun tingling on her back and legs, turning the skin a golden brown. She felt the sand under the folds of the blanket, the gentle caress of the wind on her skin, heard the wingulls crying for scraps of food, the waves crashing against the shore, the chatter of the other beach goers.

Suddenly, there was a patch on her back that wasn't feeling the tingling warmth of the sun. She opened one eye and looked up to see a man in a pair of swim trunks standing over her to her left. "Can I help you?" she asked in an unpleasant tone.

The man didn't seem to take the hint. "Sure, you can go on a date with me tonight," he said, his voice cocky with assurance that he was impossible to resist, and that she would say yes.

May closed her eyes and lay her head back down again. "Sorry, even if I wanted to - which, I can guarantee you, I don't – I have a boyfriend."

"Well, he's not a very smart guy, letting a catch like you out all alone."

"He knows that I can take care of myself." She was beginning to find this man very annoying. She couldn't see him anymore either. Running through the self-defense lessons her father had given her all her life, she was confident she could overcome this…boy… if he tried to do anything. Actually, in her peeved state, she wanted him to try something.

Lo and behold, he did try something. He reached down and grabbed her left wrist, trying to pull her up. May felt her heartbeat increase anticipating the action she would have to take. She could feel the adrenaline kicking in. "Come on, it's just lunch."

May grudgingly gave him his first, and last, warning, as she pulled her wrist out of his grasp. It was easy, if you knew how. It was all about pulling against the thumb, no matter how strong the opponent was. "First off, I already said no. I have a boyfriend. Second, I'm not getting up with my top untied. Third, touch me again, and I'll break your wrist." She wouldn't really, but it was going to be really painful, regardless.

The man smiled. Well, it sounded like he was smiling when he talked. May couldn't see, her eyes were still closed. "Feisty, aren't we? Good. I like my kittens to have a little fight in them." He reached down and took her left wrist again in his right hand. "Come on, we're going."

May rotated her hand clockwise, freeing her wrist from the grip. She continued turning her wrist clockwise until her palm was under his. Grabbing the back of his hand with her thumb tightly, she unwound her wrist counter clockwise and pulled it level with her neck. The effect was immediate.

Letting out a small yell of pain, the man found himself, completely against his will, on his side next to May, his back to her. When he landed, a small wave of sand went onto May's towel. She looked at the sand, and then looked at the man, who had turned his head a little so that he could see her out of the corner of his eye. May glared at him. "You got sand on my towel," she said in a level, yet menacing, tone. She twisted his wrist a little more. The man let out another yelp.

"Wait, stop, you're going to break it!" he complained.

"I said I would, didn't I? Why shouldn't I break it?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just please let me go."

"Didn't I say I didn't want to go with you?"

"Yes,"

"Didn't I tell you what would happen if you touched me again?"

"Yes,"

"Didn't I say I had a boyfriend?"

"Yes,"

"Then why did you do it again?"

"I thought you were playing hard to get. I'm sorry. Please let me go?"

May twisted a tiny fraction more. "And now you got sand on my towel." She took a deep breath, appearing to calm herself. "I'm going to let you go and count to ten. If I can still see you when I get to ten, I'm coming after you." She let go of his wrist without giving him a chance to respond. "One…Two…Three…Four…" She stopped counting after that. He was way out of hearing distance now if the indignant yells of the people and squawks of the wingull were anything to go by.

Sighing, May tied back up the back of her bikini. She really wasn't in the mood to sunbathe anymore. She needed to hit something that wouldn't yell in protest. There was a gym nearby. A real gym, not a Pokémon gym. Maybe she would stop by there later, hit the punching bag for a while.

Standing up, she brushed the sand from her legs, arms, and stomach, shook out her towel, put on her flip flops, and went to the little showers they had just off the sand. May took off her bandanna and washed her hair out under the showers, too. They were a little cold, but not all unpleasant. Going to the lockers to collect her spare towel and bag, her thoughts turned to the contest ahead. Her Pokémon were at the Pokecenter right now, getting a once over from Nurse Joy. _Let's see…I have Blaziken, Venasaur, Skitty, Glaceon, Beautifly, and Wartortle. Glaceon is dying to get out there, so I'll use her first… _She let the thoughts carry her away as she walked to the Pokecenter.

Nurse Joy brought her out of her reverie as May walked into the Pokecenter. "Oh, May, it's you," she said. "A message came in for you just after you left yesterday."

May furrowed her brow quizzically. Who would be sending her a message? Her heart was screaming _It's Ash, it's Ash!_, while her mind logically decided _It's probably Mom and Dad._ She went over to the screen as Nurse Joy hit the button to display the message.

From: Ash Ketchum

May stood frozen. Ash really HAD sent her the message! What did he need? Was something wrong? Had he finally realized his feelings for her? Only one way to find out. May continued reading.

From: Ash Ketchum

To: May Haruka

Subject: See me

May, I need you to come see me as soon as possible. I'm in Cerulean City. I know it's a bit much to ask, but please. I need you right now.

End.

Ash. Needed her. She felt like she was going to float away. And then, reading through the letter, she fell like a lead balloon. Cerulean City. That's where Misty lived. Why did Ash need her there, in the reaches of enemy territory? Unless…

Could it be? Had Misty finally broken Ash's heart to pieces? And if she had, Ash needed HER to be there to help him? May went back to floating.

"Is everything alright?" Nurse Joy asked her, bringing her back to reality.

"Uhmm, yeah. Fine. Nurse Joy, are my Pokémon ready? I need to get going." All thoughts of the contest were blown out of her mind. She needed to get to Cerulean City. Fortunately, she had connections. One of her father's friends in Mauville City raised and raced Pidgeot for a living. She'd flown them before. They couldn't even get close to their top speed with a passenger, but they were still extremely fast. _Two days and I can be in Cerulean City. _And the Pidgeot were trained to return home after they flew their passenger.

"Yes, here they are," Nurse Joy replied, bringing out May's pokeballs.

"Thanks, Nurse Joy."

"No problem May."

May grabbed the pokeballs and ran into the room she had in the pokecenter. She quickly changed out of her bikini and into her normal clothes, then sprinted out the door. She eventually had to slow the sprint to a jog though. _Have to pace myself if I'm going to get to Mauville soon. It isn't too far. A few hours bike ride. That means most of the day running. I swear, next time I see that Pikachu, I'm going to strangle him for turning my bike into charcoal._

-----

It was evening by the time she got to her dad's friends house in Mauville. And May was exhausted. She knocked on the door wearily, trying to stay standing. A light on the porch came on, and the door opened.

"Hi May! How are you? What are you doing here so late at night?" It was her dad's friend, Juliet.

May spoke with a slight daze in her voice. "Oh, hi Juliet. How are you? Mind if I come in?"

The woman stepped into the house, ushering May inside. May was led through a hallway to a sitting room, where she promptly plopped down on a large comfortable looking sofa.

"Can I get you something to eat or drink?"

"No, I had some berry's on the run over."

"What are you doing here? Aren't you in the contest in Slateport? Shouldn't you be headed there?"

"Well… I just came from there, actually."

Juliet looked at May for a moment, scrutinizing her. "This has to do with a boy, doesn't it?" she suddenly asked.

May blushed a bright red. "No, it doesn't." Juliet gave her a disbelieving look. "I mean, not really." The look continued. "Only a little." The look was unrelenting. May looked down at her feet. "Yes," she finally admitted in a small voice.

Juliet said nothing. She had a small cup of tea on a saucer resting on the table. She picked it up and took a sip. "What's his name?"

May continued staring at her feet. "Ash Ketchum."

Juliet furrowed her brow. "I think I've heard that name, somewhere." She shrugged, setting the thought aside for the moment. "Are you pregnant?"

May looked up in shock, her face going even redder, if that was possible. "Jesus, Juliet, no! I'm only 12!"

Juliet snorted. "Please, you're more developed than some 16 year olds I know." She took another sip of her tea. "So do you want to tell me what's going on?"

May knew Juliet wouldn't help her without knowing the whole story. So she started at the very beginning. "Well, when I started out on my journey, there were some mishaps. I ran into this guy, who was having some trouble with one of his Pokémon, a Pikachu. We had to fight off Team Rocket from stealing the Pikachu, who was sick. He had some kind of electric cold. Anyways, Pikachu summoned some kind of super powerful Thunder, and charred my bike to a crisp. After that, I-"

"You don't need to start that far back. Though I was wondering why you ran instead of riding your bike. Let's get to the immediate problem. Why are you here now, tonight?"

"Oh, sorry," May said, embarrassed even a little more. "A while back, Ash, the guy with the Pikachu, went to continue fighting gyms in Sinnoh, while I stayed here to compete in contests. Earlier today, I got a message from him saying he needed me in Cerulean City."

"What's he doing in Cerulean City?"

"I'm not sure, but I _think _I know. Before he met me, he traveled with another girl named Misty. She's the Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym. I _think_ he went there, and she broke his heart." May looked at her feet again. "He said he needed me. I'm kind of hoping he needs me to…you know…help his…heart."

Juliet looked at her for a moment longer, sipping her tea. "Well," she said after a moment. "I really shouldn't help you. I should send you right back to Slateport to go on that contest." Juliet turned to look out the window. "But I can understand how you're feeling, having feelings for a man while he has feelings for another." She appeared to be deep in thought. "I know that, given the chance, I would swoop in the moment the other one made the mistake." Juliet turned back to May. "Are you desperate enough to get there, to Cerulean, to try something semi-experimental?"

"Will I live through it?" May asked, a little concerned.

Juliet waved her hand. "Probably. Unless, you know, you punch a hole in the chamber. You'd need a rocket launcher to do that, though. You might get really sick, though."

"Sick, I can put up with. Tell me what I need to do."

Juliet gave her a conspiratorial smile. "Come on. Let me show you my Sky Sled."

-----

"So, what do you think?" Juliet asked May.

"What is it?"

"I call it the Sky Sled." It looked like an egg, with wheels on the bottom, and two wings out to the side.

"Umm, what does it do?"

Juliet gave May a look. "Isn't it obvious? It flies."

"Without any propellers? Or jets?"

"Well, it's pulled by something that flies."

Now it was May's turn to give Juliet a look. "Are you telling me a Pidgeot pulls this thing along behind it? Isn't this too heavy to pull?"

"No, not A Pidgeot. Five." May looked at Juliet like she was crazy. "Hey, it works. I've spent years studying Pidgeot and how they fly in flocks. You've seen other birds fly in flocks, right? In that inverted V shape?" May nodded. "Pidgeot fly in the same way. It's the most efficient way for any group of birds to fly. The first bird cuts through the air, making a slipstream behind both of its wings. That's where the next birds are. And then the next birds are on the outside of the second and third birds slipstream."

"Then why is there only one bird behind the second and third birds, and not two?"

"Because it causes turbulence. The slipstream of the inside wings mix with the fading slipstream behind the first bird. Causes all sorts of chaos for a bird to fly through."

May looked at it for a while. "So how does it work?"

Juliet smiled. "I'm glad you asked. You see, on the nose of the Sky Sled, there is a rotating plate from which five cords extend. Each cord attaches to a Pidgeot. After a while, the plate rotates, allowing the lead bird to change so that none of them tire too quickly. When the plate rotates, it shortens or lengthens the chords. It's calibrated to rotate at times a bit sooner than Pidgeot normally change lead, to make up for the added weight of the Sled. Brilliant, huh?"

May looked at it, a seed of concern growing in her stomach. "It's…something all right."

Juliet looked at the contraption in pride. "It has an auto-stabelizer that keeps you pretty level in the air, and the wheels retract when they haven't had pressure on them for a minute. This thing will get you there inside two days. Probably closer to 36 hours. Because you're in the pressurized cockpit, and supplied with oxygen, and five Pidgeot pulling you, you can reach Mach 1.2 easy. 1.5 if you're really lucky."

May blinked in surprise. "How fast can a Pidgeot fly without this thing?"

"About Mach 2."

May looked at the sleeping Pidgeot with a new respect. "Wow. That's fast. Why can't I just ride on one, without the sky sled?"

"You're not strong enough to hold on when it's going at top speed. You'd be ripped off its back like that." Juliet snapped her fingers. "I've trained these guys personally. They'll land when they're close to their limit, and then go hunting. Their harnesses are specially designed to let go when they're done flying, then reattach when they're ready to go again. Give them about 10 hours rest for every 7 flying Once you get to Cerulean, they'll fly back here, so you don't need to worry about them.. Oh, and bring a book. It's a long flight."

May gave Juliet a big hug. "Thanks for helping me. I owe you one, big time."

Juliet hugged May back, rubbing her back. "No, sweetie, you don't owe me a thing. I'm helping you because I would want to be helped too."

May gave her one last squeeze, then let go. "So, when can I leave?"

"Tomorrow morning if you want."

"Then I'm going to have to go buy some books and food tonight. Can't have me and my Pokémon starving when we get to Cerulean, can we?"

-----

It had been a long day for Ash, Brock, and Dawn. It had started with flying, and ended with flying. Tracy had sent over Ash's Pidgeot, just as he said he would, and Liza had sent Charizard. Ash was in no mood to talk. He was set on getting to Cerulean City.

It had been Dawn's first time flying on a Pokémon. Under normal circumstances, it would have been amazing. But, considering the severity of the reason for their flight, it was a somber flight.

Since Brock was the heaviest, Charizard flew him. Dawn was the lightest, so Staraptor had flown her. That left Ash with Pidgeot. Probably not the best of ideas, in retrospect. Ash had had a hard time staying with the rest of the group. Not because Pidgeot had trouble keeping up with the group. The opposite, in fact. Ash had a hard time keeping Pidgeot to stay slow enough for the others to follow.

At the end of the day, they had reached the airport. Mrs. Ketchum had booked a non-stop flight to Celadon City. That was almost 40 hours of non-stop flying.

Dawn groaned at the aspect of it. Brock was feeding all the Pokémon, and Ash was sitting in one of the airport chairs, staring at the lure in his hands. _Oh, I really shouldn't…_ Dawn thought to herself. _It would be taking advantage of a realllllly emotional situation. But, if she doesn't make it, Ash is going to need a shoulder to cry on._ Dawn's resolution firmed. _And I'm going to be that shoulder. And if everything…stays the same, if Misty is okay, then we'll just be closer friends._ Dawn felt like a dirt bag for what she was about to do. _But, all's fair in love in war. And this isn't just love, it's war too._

Dawn picked up Piplup and walked over to where Ash was sitting. Her arms and legs were sore from holding on to Staraptor during the flight. No doubt Ash was just as sore, but he wasn't showing it.

"Hey," she said in a soft, comforting voice as she sat down next to him. "Are you okay?" Dawn held Piplup in her lap. The little blue bird, sensing the mood of the situation, jumped down and went off to where Pikachu was. Ash had wanted to be alone for a while, and Pikachu understood his Master's feelings.

Ash didn't say anything. "You know," he finally said. "I remember when I first met Misty. It was back on the very first day of my journey." He rubbed a thumb across the face of the lure. "Pikachu wouldn't listen to me back then. He hated being in his pokeball, and I kept trying to make him. Finally, I had given up. I saw a spearow in the fields, and had thought it would be a good first Pokémon to catch. But Pikachu ignored me when I asked him to help. So I threw a rock at it instead." He laughed at the memory. "It got sooooo mad. It flew off to get the rest of its flock. They all ganged up and attacked Pikachu and me." His eyes were teary at the memory. "They got at Pikachu first. He couldn't move. I picked him up and ran. I ran and ran, trying to get away. I saw a river, and I jumped into it. The river led to a waterfall. Which, of course, I fell down." Ash pulled down the bill of his cap, to try and hide his tears from Dawn.

"Misty." His voice choked up a little. "Misty fished me out. Me and Pikachu. And then I stole her bike, trying to get Pikachu to the Pokecenter in Viridian City. I said 'I'll bring it back I promise!' as I rode off with it." Ash choked up at the end of the sentence. He couldn't bring his voice, or his tears, under control again at this point. "I rode as hard as I could, but the spearow caught up again. Then Pikachu used the strongest Thunderbolt I've ever seen. He scared off all the spearow, and char grilled Misty's bike in the process." He let out a quick chuckle. "Kind of like your bike. Sorry about that by the way. Pikachu just doesn't like bikes, it seems." He wiped an arm over his eyes, trying to get rid of the tears. "Then I ran to the pokecenter. Obviously, Pikachu got better, but it was touch and go for a while. While I was waiting, Misty storms into the Pokecenter, the burnt bike over her shoulder. She promised she'd travel with me until I paid her back for the bike." He cry/laughed at the memory. Dawn didn't know what to say. Instead, she put her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. Ash turned into the hug and pulled Dawn close to him, crying onto her shoulder. "Even when she wasn't with me, all this time, she's always been with me. I just… I don't know how I could handle her not being there." He cried onto her shoulder a good while. Dawn's heart leapt, but her consciousness beat her heart into submission. For the moment, at least.

"Shhh, Ash. Shhhh. Everything's going to be okay." She rubbed his back as she whispered into his ear. "I haven't met her, but Misty's a Gym Leader. You've got to be tough to be a Gym Leader. Why, I bet that she'll be better and ready for a battle the minute you get there."

Ash snorted at that. "Probably a verbal battle, saying that I shouldn't have come all this way. She probably cares more about me being a Master than I do." Ash let go of Dawn, wiping his eyes again. "Thanks, Dawn. I needed that. You really are one of the best friends I have. Thanks for being here with me." Ash looked down at the lure at that moment, so he didn't see Dawn blush redder than Charizard.

"Hey," Dawn said to Ash. He put the lure in his pocket and looked up at Dawn again. "Why don't you give her another call? Just to see how she is."

Ash thought for a minute. "I don't know. What if she's worse than before? I don't know how I could take it if she's…she's…"

Dawn stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him up too. _This is all for the bigger picture,_ Dawn kept chanting to herself as she pulled him to the pay phones. _Be a good friend now, and a girlfriend later. If I'm a good friend for him in this rough spot, he'll see how much I care about him. Then maybe he'll care about me some. I just hope Misty doesn't really die. I'd hate to win that way. _Pulling some change out of her skirt pocket, Dawn paid the pay phone, dialed the number for the Gym, and handed the phone to Ash. The camera on this side was broken, so they wouldn't be able to see Ash, but they could still hear him.

The phone rang. The screen flashed to life as the phone was picked up. "Hello?" said the woman on the other side, her eyes red and puffy from crying, her voice a little hoarse.

"Hi, Lily," Ash said, his own voice a little hoarse. "It's – "

"I know who it is," Lily said in anger. "I can't see you, but I recognize your voice. And we do have caller ID you know."

"Lily, could I talk to – "

"No, you can't!" she yelled, tears coming back into her eyes. "It's because of you that my sister's….No, you can't talk to her!" And she slammed the phone on the receiver, cutting off the image.

Ash stared at the screen, face blank. Gently, he hung up the receiver, his head bowed. Dawn saw a tear fall from his face to the floor, and it almost broke her heart.

"Oh, Ash," she said, pulling him into another hug. This time, though, he didn't even have the strength to hug her back. He just cried.

-----

(What the hell does your trainer think she's doing?) Pikachu demanded of Piplup as the little blue penguin walked over.

(What are you talking about?) Piplup asked. (She's being a good friend, which is just what YOUR trainer needs right now. In case you haven't noticed, he's upset,) she retorted, crossing her wings in front of her.

Pikachu didn't want to fight. It wasn't Piplup's fault. Instead, he patted the ground next to him, indicating that she should sit there. Piplup looked at Pikachu suspiciously, and then sat down.

(I'm sorry. I'm a little upset too. Misty's one of the best friends we've,) Pikachu indicated Ash, (Ever had. She was there right at the beginning.)

Piplup looked a little confused. (I thought it was me and Dawn at the beginning. And who is Misty? I've never met her before. If she was so important, why haven't I met her?)

Pikachu took a deep breath. Piplup could be a little self-centered. (It was you and Dawn at the beginning of our journey in Sinnoh. But me and Ash, we've been traveling for a while. Probably since before you were hatched. We're from Kanto, which is where we're heading now. Misty met us on the first day we left Pallet Town. She saved my life, actually.) Pikachu scratched an ear absently. (I accidentally…broke her bike, but she's still one of my best human friends.)

Piplup looked at Pikachu. (You broke Dawn's bike, too. Do you not like bikes or something?)

Pikachu laughed nervously. (Well, hehe, it's not that I don't LIKE them. It's just that…well, they…I mean, they're…) Piplup gave Pikachu a look. He hung his head. (Okay. They scare me. I don't know why, but they do, and I kind of…shock them if they surprise me. It's not my fault that they're made of weak material.)

Piplup shook her head. (You electric types. Always quick to shoot first and ask questions later.)

(At least we aren't haughty and self-centered like you water types.)

Piplup looked like she was about to retort, but thought better of it. (What were you saying earlier about Dawn?)

Pikachu had expected something harsh, and was caught a little by surprise. (Uh…well, it's just that I can smell the pheromones from here. It seems a little low to take advantage of Ash when he's like this, don't you think?)

Piplup shook her head. (You can't understand it. You're a guy. Trust me, Bunneary would be doing the same thing with you if something happened to…I don't know, who's your oldest friend? Bulbasaur?)

Pikachu sighed. (Can we not talk about Bunneary, please?)

Piplup smiled as much as she could smile with a beak, but let it go. (Alright.)

The two Pokémon watched as their trainers embraced.

-----

Misty jumped in surprise as she heard Lily slam the phone down on the receiver.

"Lily?" she called. "Is everything okay?"

Lily wandered back into the living room, a scowl on her face. They had all been watching another sad movie that Daisy had picked out the day before. "No," she said. "Everything is not okay. You'll never believe who just called."

Misty wondered who could have made Lily so angry. "I don't know? Who?"

"Derick. He wanted to talk to Daisy."

"No!" the three seated sisters cried out in unison. "Why? What did he say?" Violet asked.

"I didn't give him much chance to talk. He didn't even have the nerve to turn on the camera on his end. I told him off, and hung up on him."

"Good," Daisy huffed. "I don't want to speak to him again." She patted the seat Lily had vacated to answer the phone. "Come on, sit back down, grab some popcorn, and we'll start the movie back up."

Lily waved her hand at the idea. "I'm too pissed right now. I need to go for a swim."

"Don't go skinny dipping!" Misty cried out as Lily left. "We still need to fix the hole in the wall from that guy with the Tyranitar!"

"I won't!" she replied, disappearing down the hall.

Misty turned back to the TV and pushed play on the DVD player. She wasn't paying too much attention to the movie, though. She had had a busy day today. Stocking the refrigerator with things Ash liked, cleaning up the Gym, scrubbing the water tank. She wanted everything to be perfect for when he came in two days.

Just two days, and her Ash would be back. _I wonder if Brock will be with him?_ Misty wondered to herself. _I hope not. I'd like to have a little time with just me and Ash._ She went to daydreaming about the future. Cooking Ash's favorite foods, training with him. Resting with him after a good work out, going for a swim. Kissing him…

She let her mind wander on that pleasant tangent. Then she remembered his other companions. _May,_ she thought almost viciously. _Dawn. They have nothing on me. I'll be civil with them when Ash is around, but if he's gone… they'll probably be just as vicious. But, he isn't traveling with May anymore. So there's just this 'Dawn' character to worry about right now. Who knows, she may have a boyfriend. She's bound to meet someone in the contest circuit._ Of course, Misty had thought the same thing about May.

_We'll just have to wait and see._

-----

Patrick and Jane sat at the computer they had set up on their base. It beeped once, showing that there had been a call from outside Kanto to the Cerulean Gym. It had been successfully renamed.

Jane looked at the Magnemite and the Alakazam on the side of the wall. Magnemite was connected on two sides to a telephone cable. Magnemite acted as the transmitter between the two cables, monitoring every call that went through. When one came from a number outside Kanto, the Alakazam picked it up, changed the electrical signal that Magnemite would send out using Confusion, and let the impulse continue traveling through the cable. Whenever Ash called, it would look like Derick was calling.

"Jane, my dear," Patrick cooed. "You are brilliant. Using Magnemite as a terminal monitor and Alakazam as a re-logging algorithm was genius."

"Why, thank you Patrick." Her phone rang. "Hello? Good. Why, where is he? Okay. No, shouldn't be a problem. Just add him to the list in Pettleburg. Yes. Cancel his message. Yes. Bye."

"Who was that?"

"The relay from Hoenn. He got reports saying that May is prepared to head out here in the morning, and should be here in two days. Max, though, is doing some training with his Dad in Pettleburg."

"And where is Ash?"

Jane turned to the computer. "According to this, he called from a pay phone in the airport. Our contacts say his plane leaves in the morning. He and May should arrive a few hours apart."

"Who will get here first?"

"Probably May."

"Do you have a plan to keep her occupied?"

Jane smiled. "Why, of course I do. After all, we want them all together, so we can break them apart." Jane chuckled darkly, Patrick joining her as they contemplated the next phases of their plan.

End Chapter

-------

AN: I wrote this chapter while listening to the new Pokemon opening song. Nonstop, over and over. It actually isn't that bad. So... What do you think of my version of May? Dawn's plot to win Ash's heart? Ash's less-than-manly reactions? The conversation between the Pokemon? Misty's troublesome sisters? Who has a good guess who the guy Juliet is talking about is?

And what do you think of the Sky Sled? I personally thought it was rather clever. Read, review, and recommend! Penguin King, out~


	4. The Abductions

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of its characters and/or creatures. I do, however, take creative ownership of any and all additional characters outside of the cannon, and any previous and following plot advancement to the current series of Pokémon.

ALSO: For you picky people out there. I am well aware my time zone changes don't work. I have one thing to say to those of you who would make a big to-do of it. It may sound rude, but I will say it; Deal with it.

Now. Onto the story!

-----------------

"Ash… Please… Don't leave me again." There were tears in Misty's' eyes as she held his shoulders, looking up into his eyes. Ash smiled and closed his eyes before pulling Misty into a close hug.

"Misty," he whispered into her ear. "I could never leave you. I love you too much."

Misty gasped in shock, hearing the words she had longed to hear for so long. Then, she started to cry. "Oh, Ash." She pulled back and took his head in her hands. Misty pulled his head down, and –

_Beep, beep, beep!_ Misty sat up in bed as her alarm clock went off. Her hair was loose, reaching down her back. Her tank top was sweaty, and her heart racing. Groaning, she reached out and hit the button that turned off the alarm. She hated it when dreams ended right before the best part.

Throwing back the covers, Misty sat up in bed. Stretching, she remembered the last bit of her dream, lingering on the end, and daydreaming where it would go from there. She smiled languorously before standing up. Yes, it would go just like that. She turned around again to look at the clocks display. Time for her morning swim. Letting her mind wander along the pleasant tangent, Misty changed out of her tank top and shorts into her blue one piece. She wanted to save her bikinis for when Ash came.

Misty went through the routine by reflex, not really thinking about what she was doing. It almost seemed like fate had decided to bring Ash and her together at last. Why else would he be coming here? And on such short notice too. Although, she did wish Ash would call again. She wanted to talk to him. It had been so long, Misty had almost forgotten what his voice sounded like. If she didn't hear it every night in her dreams, that is.

She thought through everything they could do together this weekend. They could go shopping, go out to dinner, and maybe see a movie. Ash would probably like to train his Pokémon in a water environment, and there was none better to help him in that field than she. She was so filled with nervous energy that she finished all her morning swim a full ten seconds under her best time.

There was, however, the problem of getting any time alone with Ash. Really alone. Her sisters _did_ live with her, here at the gym, and there didn't seem to be any getting rid of them. Worse, that slime ball Derick had broken Daisy's heart. If there was a time a sister needed her family's love and comfort, it was now. But dang it, who knew when she would get to see Ash again?

Misty climbed out of the pool on the shallow end, grabbing her towel and heading to the shower. She turned on the shower, warming up the water, and then went to check the time. It was 7 in the morning. _Maybe I'll have some ideas after my shower, _Misty thought as she went back into the bathroom.

-------

Violet yawned as she woke up. The sun was shining through her window and onto her face. _I'm going to have to get some of those blackout curtains,_ she thought to herself as she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

She came out of her bathroom and went into the kitchen for a tall glass of orange juice. _Like I say, nothing to wake you up in the morning like a cold glass of OJ._ Wandering into the living room, she plopped down onto the couch and turned on the television to the news. Nothing out of the ordinary. A break in somewhere last night, a fire, the weather. Pretty normal stuff for Cerulean.

Turning off the television she went back into the kitchen for a refill of orange juice. On her way, though, she saw the answering machine blinking. There were two messages. _Hmm, I wonder who could have called?_ All four sisters were pretty sound sleepers. The phone wouldn't have woken them up.

"You have two unheard messages," the mechanical voice said when she pressed the button. "First unheard message sent today at 5 AM from Derick." Violet pushed the delete button before the message even started. She had never liked Derick, even at the beginning. The fact that he called at five in the morning struck Violet as a little creepy, too.

"Second unheard message sent today at 5:10 AM from Derick." Again, she pushed the delete button. Two calls? At five in the morning? That was sure to be one of the tell tale signs of a stalker. She made a mental note to tell Daisy when she woke up.

Suddenly, Violet let out a big yawn and felt incredibly sleepy. She went back into her room and lay down on top of the covers, letting out another big yawn. _Maybe I'll sleep for a little longer,_ she thought to herself, looking at the clock. It was still a little early, only 7 in the morning.

-----

Delia Ketchum was doing what she always did in the morning; cleaning. Her and Mimey enjoyed cleaning. You never knew who would pop up, and it would be such a shame for the visitor to think you a slob.

Finishing dusting the mantel and book shelves on the ground floor, she moved to the stairs while Mimey swept. _I hope Ash is alright,_ she thought to herself, mopping the stairs as she went up them. _He seemed so worried when he called, and he wouldn't tell me what was going on._ It had been an odd request for sure. Three tickets to Celadon City. What would he be doing in Celadon City that was so urgent?

_Let's see, who does Ash know in Celadon City? Hmmm… The only name that I can think of is the Gym Leader, Erika._ She tossed out the idea. _Please. Ash is so hopelessly in love with Misty that he wouldn't notice if another girl striped right in front of him._

Delia gasped. Of course. Misty! _Come to think of it, I DID see Tracey drive to the Viridian Forest. Ash's Pidgeot is over that way._ She let out a girlish giggle. _He's probably pulling out all the stops trying to get to Misty. Maybe one of her sisters gave him a call about a 'boyfriend.' _Delia adored Misty and her sisters. They were so young and full of life. Misty dropped by for the occasional visit, to see how she was, and to just talk.

Now that the mystery of her sons' behavior had been solved, she was able to continue cleaning with a peaceful mind. She let out a yawn and set her mind back to cleaning. _Now it's time to do the bedrooms,_ she thought to herself as she walked to her bedroom.

She walked through the doors and her eyes immediately went to a picture she kept next to her bed. Her previous good mood went away. It was a picture of her and her husband on their wedding day. Picking up the picture, she lay down on her bed, looking at it. She closed her eyes, holding the picture to her chest. _Maybe I'll take a little nap,_ she thought to herself. It was 7 in the morning.

------

The entire Slate house was asleep, exhausted from their previous days playing. Lola and Flint lay next to each other in their large bed. Nine children exhausted the parents. And the nine children were exhausted from exhausting their parents. It was, after all, only 7 in the morning. All sane people were still asleep at 7 during the summer.

------

Far to the West of Kanto was Hoenn. On the western side of the region lay Petelburg City. There, the morning still hung around. Very early morning, in fact. In the house next to the Petelburg Gym, three family members slept, unaware of the outside world. Norman and Caroline in one room, Max in another. Max was having a funny dream. Not funny ha-ha, but funny weird. He was dreaming that there were Paras on his ceiling, letting their Spore fall down on him, making him even more tired. He looked at his clock, then rolled over and fell asleep. Two was far too early to be waking up.

------

On the other side of the world, far to the East of Kanto, the Sinnoh day had been under way for a long time. It was already five in the afternoon. Johanna had just finished shopping for dinner. She found her prize Glameow taking a nap on the couch. She yawned while looking at the sleeping cat. _You know,_ she thought to herself as she walked to her bedroom. _That doesn't look to be a half bad idea._ She lay down and closed her eyes. _Just for a half hour or so,_ she told herself as she drifted off to sleep.

------

Jane looked at her watch. It was, in Cerulean, 9 in the morning, two hours after the beginning of the abductions. If everything had gone according to plan, all targets should be on their way to Sinnoh. Once she got the call, she would begin the next phase of the plan.

She yawned as she went over the manuscripts. The computer had woken her up early in the morning. Seemed like Ash had decided to try and give Misty another call when he was in the air. Jane laughed at the image she had in her head, of Ash meeting Misty, and her perfectly fine. The boy could be so gullible. It was beyond her how Jesse and James had had so much trouble with him. It seemed like they could dress up, say they ran a pokemon day care, and then run off with the loot.

Just then, the phone rang. Jane picked it up. "Hello?" she answered.

"All persons listed are now in the air to the Sinnoh base."

"Excellent. Keep the Paras using spore so they stay asleep until they're locked up. What did you do with their pokemon?"

"All pokemon are in their balls and have been loaded into separate containers on separate flights from the people. They will be fitted with collars and put into the testing rotation."

"Good. Anything else to report?"

"No ma'am."

"Then deactivate the sleeper cells and tell them the new activation phrase. Dismissed."

"Yes ma'am." The line went dead. The wheels were turning on Patrick and Jane's convoluted plan. The next phase would need some preparation. It would let them stew in their juices for a bit. Jane almost giggled in anticipation.

Patrick groaned. "Jane, stop that. I'm sleeping. Come back to bed. It's too early to do evil."

Jane rolled her eyes at Patrick. "It's never too early to do evil." She had a malicious glint in her eye as she said it. "Everything is going according to plan. Not a single hitch yet."

"That's good. So when do we get to kill them?"

Jane laughed. "Soon, Patrick. Soon."

Patrick groaned. "Soon for you means in a week. Minimum."

------

Misty couldn't help but let out a giddy, girlish giggle every time she looked at the note. Her sisters had left it for her on the kitchen table. It read:

Misty,

We know how much you're looking forward to seeing Ash again. Now, we know you don't want your big sisters around to ruin the mood. I mean, we ARE extremely beautiful. No sane woman would want us around when they're trying to win the heart of a man. So, we've decided to take a road trip. Believe it or not, it was all Daisy's idea. She thought a trip to Fuchsia would be a nice escape from the 'Derick' incident, and give you a little privacy at the same time.

Just remember, now that we're not around, you have to be responsible. Keep the gym clean, no parties, et cetera. You know.

Also, we won't be around to tell you if you're going to do something stupid. Just don't do anything you'll regret later. Particularly nine months down the road.

We love you. Have fun! And don't lose Ash to those other girls who hang around him. We actually like him.

Your sisters,

Violet, Lily, & Daisy

Misty was a little offended that her own sisters thought she would do… that… with Ash. Honestly, they were hardly even fifteen. It _did_ make Misty wonder what her own sisters had done at this age, though.

Actually, she really didn't. Putting that thought far from her mind, Misty planned what to do until Ash arrived. She still had all of today and most of tomorrow before he arrived. She had cleaned almost everything from top to bottom, stocked the fridge, bought a few new clothes, and even cleaned up her mermaid outfit and the showgirl outfit that magician had given her. She was more than ready for anything.

_So… Now what do I do?_ Wandering into the kitchen, Misty pulled a cup from the cupboard and filled it with water. Taking a gulp, she looked around and found, to her horror, that there was a very fine layer of dust on one of the counter tops. _Violet,_ she thought menacingly. _When she gets back, I'm going to kill her. It was her job this week to take care of the kitchen._

Misty sat down her glass, pulled out a rag, wetted it under the sink, and began washing everything down once. Once it was all sparkling again, she rinsed out the rag and set it back in its place over the faucet neck.

Picking up the water again, Misty made her way to the Pokemon pool, where she kept all of her pokemon. She was surprised to find, upon entering, that they were all asleep. _How odd,_ she thought as she took a head count. All were accounted for, except for her sisters. _They probably took them with them to Fuchsia. _Misty decided to come back later, when they were all awake, to feed them and play with them.

_Well,_ she thought as she finished her water, _Looks like there's nothing to do now except…wait._

End Chapter

------

AN: Sorry it's so short guys. I had a bit of a writer's block. But! Now you get a glimpse of Patrick and Jane's plan. And next chapter, will Ash beat May to seeing Misty in Cerulean City? Will he be able to stop the war that is to come? How will Misty react to Dawn AND May, at the same time? Who knows? I sure do  Thanks for reading. Please review and recommend! Penguin King, out ~


	5. Setting the Board

Author's Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to do this guys. Life has been pretty chaotic for me this last month or so though. School, studying, tests, work. Not to mention the catastrophic computer failure that essentially wiped my computer. But, such is life. What can you do but keep on moving when life tries to kill you? Anyways, here is the next chapter in "The Choices They Have Made."

----------

May unsteadily crawled out of the Sky Sled. The last thirty-six hours had been torture. When she wasn't busy emptying the contents of her stomach while flying, she was trying to figure out all aspects of her plan. She was exhausted, both mentally and physically. "Finally!" she cried when she touched ground. "Never again am I going to fly on this thing!" Pulling her belongings out of the Sled after her, May gestured at the Pidgeot. "Thanks guys. Go home. Fly safe!" she cried as they began their takeoff. The flock of birds were already in the air. They circled up, pulling the sled after them. They turned back to fly over May. Gaining speed, they turned in the direction of home, and with a last powerful beat of their wings, broke the sound barrier. The sonic boom was extremely loud, and the backlash of it sent May sprawling on her backside. "That wasn't very nice," she grumbled as she got up, dusting herself off and getting her bearings to her surroundings.

She was on the side of the road to Cerulean City. She was on the Mt. Moon side, and could see the gates to the City. Smiling for the first time in the last day, she broke into a jog, trying to get to Ash. Her Ash now. She laughed giddily, trying to picture what it would be like. Magical, surely. How could it not be? She was going to be with Ash! _Just wait, Ash Ketchum,_ she thought. _I'm coming for you!_

----------

It was a good fifteen minute walk to the city. Upon arrival, she went straight to the Pokecenter first. Even if she didn't want it, May knew that she needed a rest. And even if she didn't, her Pokemon did.

"Welcome," Nurse Joy said with a smile. "What can I do for you today?"

"I just got off a long rather…turbulent flight. Do you think you could give my Pokemon a checkup for me?"

"Absolutely. Would you like a room also?"

"Yes please," May said as she slid her 'Dex into the slot and placed her pokeballs into a tray. Nothing popped up on the computer screen. Meaning Ash hadn't said anything since the first message. That worried her a little bit, but not to terribly. "Oh, Nurse Joy!"

"Yes?"

"Have you seen a trainer named Ash Ketchum recently?"

"Oh, that cute boy with the Pikachu?"

May ground her teeth at the description. _This hussy is too old for him, yet she calls him cute._ "Yeah, him. Is he around?"

"No, I haven't seen him in a while. Why, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, fine. Thanks." She took a room key off of a hook and went to the room. Yawning, May went in, closing the door behind her, and plopped down on the bed. No sooner had her head hit the pillow than she was out.

---------

She couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour. When she woke up, May let out a yawn and stretched her arms above her head, loosening the muscles that had tightened during her sleep. Going back to the front desk of the Pokecenter, she rang the bell on the counter. Nurse Joy wasn't there, and the bell would hopefully summon her.

"Yes, how can I help you?" she asked, rounding a corner. "Oh, it's you. How was your nap?"

"Great, thanks. How are my pokemon?"

"Tip top condition. I gave them something to settle their stomach, and they're all resting in their Pokeballs. One moment, let me get them." Nurse Joy went back to the back.

May pulled out her 'dex again and slid it in the slot, checking for any mail. Sure enough, the computer screen beeped, an envelope blinking on the screen. May felt her heartbeat increase. Was it Ash?

It was! But, it was the oddest thing. It was a reallllly long list of instructions. Directions, really. Turn right here. Go straight for this long and then turn here. Find this landmark and go there. Really odd directions. But, he promised he would be there at the end of the hike.

Nurse Joy came back just then with the tray of Pokeballs. "Here you are," she said with a smile.

"Thanks Nurse Joy." She shrunk the pokeballs down to carrying size and put them back onto her belt. "Do you think you can print this out for me?" she asked, gesturing to the screen.

"Certainly." She pushed a few buttons, and the printer under the desk whirred to life. The nurse looked briefly at the message while it was printing. She smiled a sly smile. "You know," she said in a knowing way, "My husband did something similar to this once."

May looked at her curiously. "Really?"

She nodded. "Yup. One morning he came into my house early, he knew where the hidden key was, made me a wonderful breakfast, and left it and a note on a tray next to my bed."

"What did it say?"

The nurse let out a giggle and smiled as she told her story. "It was a list of instructions. It said that if I did everything right, he would have a special surprise for me at the end of it."

"Yeah?" May asked, curious. "What was it?"

Nurse Joy held out her left hand, and touched the engagement ring on it with her right hand. "This. He proposed to me at the same place he asked me to go on our first date. It was one of the most romantic things he's ever done for me." She was smiling fondly at the reminiscence. "I think I'll call him," she said as she picked the papers off of the printer. "You'd better get started though. This looks like it's going to take a couple hours. Let me know how it goes?"

"Absolutely. Bye!" May took off at a run for the door, following the instructions.

----------

May was almost at the end. Two more instructions. _Follow the green wall, keeping it on your right, until it turns to the right. _May kept her right hand on the wall, her heart beating faster and faster in excitement. Suddenly, the wall wasn't on her hand anymore.

_All right, last direction. Follow the round building around to the front._ May looked around and found the round building the note was talking about. There was a big hole in the wall, and she could see a swimming pool inside it. _Must be a fancy hotel with an indoor swimming pool,_ May assumed.

Deciding not to hold back anymore, she ran around the building. She came out around the other side, and saw him. "Ash!" she cried out.

----------

_**Several Hours Earlier**_

The plane had just landed in Celadon City, and Dawn was exhausted. She had hardly gotten any sleep, and Piplup was a zombie. Pikachu and Ash weren't much better, but they were determined to keep going. Brock finally convinced him that he was human and had to sleep. So they went to the Pokecenter to grab a quick nap. That was all Ash was allowing until they got to Cerulean. Four hours rest, and then they were flying to Cerulean.

Piplup and her other pokemon were with Nurse Joy, along with all of Ash's and Brocks Pokemon. She was in her own room, and Brock and Ash were sharing a room. Deciding that she couldn't sleep, despite her exhaustion, Dawn decided to get something to drink. She thought she had seen a vending machine out there.

She had. What she didn't expect to find, but wasn't surprised, was Ash. He was sitting on a chair, nursing a half-empty can of soda. He hadn't heard her come in. Dawn walked to the vending machine, put in some money, and picked a soda. Ash looked up when he heard the machine spit out the can. "Hey," he said. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I'm surprised that you heard the machine," Dawn replied with a smile. She sat in the chair next to him. He had bags under his eyes, swollen and purple. "You look horrible," she said playfully.

"I feel horrible."

"You know, it's called 'beauty sleep' for a reason. It helps you look good on the outside, and feel good on the inside."

He laughed once. Dawn popped open her can and took a drink from it. It was cold, and she could feel the cold spread through her chest as she swallowed, and the taste of the sugar revived her some. Putting her drink on a side table, Dawn reached out and took one of his hands in both of hers.

"Everything's going to be fine, Ash. You really need to stop worrying."

"How can I?" he asked, pulling his hand free. "Misty's sisters blame me. Like if I had been there, nothing would have happened. How can I not worry about something that could be my fault?"

"You listen to me, Ash Ketchum," Dawn insisted, taking his hand again. _Maybe I'm dreaming this,_ she thought. _There's no way I could be so bold._ "This is in no way your fault. How could it be? You were on the other side of the world."

"Exactly," he said, trying to pull his hand free again, but Dawn held firm. _Or maybe I'm just too tired to care._

"You need to stop beating yourself up about this. There is nothing you could have done to cause anything."

Ash squeezed Dawn's hand. "I know," he whispered. "And there's nothing I can do to stop it, either."

Dawn had had it with this self pity and self destructive criticism. She took one hand and grabbed his chin, turning his head so that he was looking at her. "You look at me, Ash Ketchum. Misty will be FINE. Say it with me. Misty will be fine."

"You don't kn-"

"Say it," she insisted, bringing her face closer so that he could see the anger in her eyes.

"But-"

She brought her face even closer, their noses almost touching. "Say it."

He said nothing for a while. Until finally, "Misty will be fine."

"Anything else?" Dawn asked in a whisper.

"Misty will be fine, and I did nothing to cause this."

"Good." Dawn had a very fast, furious mental debate. She would probably never get another chance like this, and she wasn't going to let it pass.

Quick as a thought, she turned her head and kissed ash. Not on the cheek or on the forehead, as some part of her mind had tried to say, but on the lips. They tasted of sugar and soda, but had another sweetness to it too, something she couldn't place.

It was a quick kiss, maybe a second, and then she backed up. Dawn picked up the soda and walked away, not giving him a chance to respond. "Remember," she called back to him before she turned a corner. "It's not your fault. Misty will be fine."

"Not once she hears this," Dawn heard him mumble. She stopped and peeked back around the corner. Ash lifted one hand and put two fingers on his lips, where she had kissed him. Then he let out a sigh and took a gulp of soda, licking his lips after. Dawn smiled and skipped back to her room.

----------

The group had taken to the sky as soon as Brock had woken. They were all tired, and it was another long flight. The sound of the wind as they flew, coupled with the lower temperatures in the sky, kept them awake and holding on though. Dawn's thoughts were giddy. She had had her first kiss. She was a serious contender in the race now.

Ash's thoughts were concerned. Misty filled the majority of his thoughts. But, a few times, Dawn intruded in his mind. He remembered the kiss, the feel of her lips, the taste of her breath… no, he mustn't think about it. But aside from that, it had been his first kiss. And Dawn had stolen it from him. Misty wasn't going to be happy. Misty…

Brock was remembering the dream he had had the night before. It had involved Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, fuzzy handcuffs, whipped cream, and a syringe. Or something along those lines…

Pikachu was concerned also. Misty was in his thoughts, but he was more concerned about Ash. He had been acting strange this morning, acting unsure around Dawn. This was a time of weakness for Ash, and being unsure would give her an opening. An opening that would bring around unnecessary complications.

Piplup was proud. She was proud of Dawn. Dawn had confided in her right afterwards, so she knew everything. Humans had a saying; all's fair in love and war. Well, this was a war of love, so if everything was fair in one, it went doubly for both. Pikachu wouldn't be happy, but he would learn to deal with it. _Maybe I should talk with Buneary…_ Piplup thought to herself.

----------

The sun was falling when they began their descent. They were heading straight for the hospital, to find Misty. Ash's pokemon didn't flinch from what was asked of them. They came through the city in tight formation, weaving through the tall buildings, lowering their altitude and slowing down as they came closer and closer to the hospital, until finally they were on the ground. Ash and Pikachu vaulted off of Pidgeot before he had even come to a complete stop, using the bird's speed to add to their own. He ran through the door and was at the counter while Dawn, Piplup, and Brock were still dismounting.

They came in the door to find Ash arguing with the man behind the desk. "What do you mean she's not here?!"

"Sir, please lower your voice. I mean, we don't have Misty here as a patient. She hasn't been to this hospital since a small training accident a year ago."

Brock took Ash by the shoulders, pulling him away from the counter, trying to calm him down. Dawn went up in his place. "Is there any other hospital nearby that she may have gone to?"

The man shook his head. "As a gym leader, the Pokemon League provides for all medical insurance for her, and we're the only hospital the Pokemon League works with in Cerulean City. That's not to say she isn't hurt, but that she didn't come here to get her injuries treated."

"Alright. Thank you." Dawn turned around and saw Ash and Brock outside the glass doors to the hospital. She went through the doors. "Alright, I've got good news. She's not here."

"We already know that!" Ask yelled, throwing his hands up. "Let's go to a different hospital."

Dawn shook her head. "No, she won't be there either. Her insurance only goes through here."

"Then let's go to the Gym." He started off at a run down the streets, his pokemon already back in their pokeballs.

Dawn and Brock took off after him. The three caromed through the streets, dodging people, bikes, scooters, venders, cars, carts, and various other pedestrians and vehicles. The gym was clearly visible, even through all the other buildings. It was also pretty close to both Pokecenter and hospital. Finally, they came to the clearing in front of the gym. They were all out of breath, and slowed to a walk now that their goal was in sight.

The group of five approached the door. Pikachu was perched on Ash's shoulder. "Pi-ka-pi," the yellow mouse said, encouraging Ash to knock on the door.

"Go on Ash," Brock said. Dawn didn't say anything, just hugged Piplup close.

He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. There wasn't any response. They stood there for a minute, waiting. Ash knocked again. _They should have a door bell,_ Dawn thought. Then the door opened.

There stood Misty, out of breath, as if she had sprinted a long distance. Her eyes rested on Ash and her face changed from out of breath to ecstatic. "Ash!" she cried as she ran through the door and hugged him tight. "It's sooo good to see you again!" Ash just stood there, stunned. "You really should give a girl a little more than three day's warning before you come and visit." Ash still didn't respond. Misty let go of him, stepping back. "Ash?" she asked. "Is everything all right?"

Ash whispered something.

"What was that?" Misty asked.

"You're not hurt."

"No, I'm fine," she responded, curious. Then Ash fell to his knees.

"Ash!" Misty and Dawn called simultaneously. Misty gave Dawn a quick glance before returning to Ash.

"Ash, what's wrong? You're crying. Here." She reached out a hand, which he took, and helped him back to his feet.

"I'm just soooo happy you're okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"I got this message," he said, calming down, wiping tears from his eyes. "It said there was an accident, and that I was needed here ASAP. And then when I called, Daisy said you were gone, and she was crying, then I called again and Lily said that it was my fault, and that she didn't want me near her sister again, and she was crying, and then no one responded to my messages, and I thought that you were-"

Misty put a hand to his mouth, stopping the torrent of words. "Ash, calm down. When was the last time you slept?"

Ash thought for a second. "What day is it?"

"Too long. Come on, let's get you inside. Brock can fill me in on the details, and then you can tell me the story." _There goes all my plans,_ Misty thought to herself.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps running along the edge of the building. The person came around into view not ten feet away. "Ash!" the runner called.

Everyone froze.

_Her,_ Dawn thought viciously. _What is SHE doing here?_

_Her,_ Misty thought menacingly. _Why is SHE here?_

_Them,_ May thought as she saw the rest of Ash's companions. _What's going on?_

_She's okay,_ Ash thought, still amazed that Misty was unharmed. _Wait, is that May? What's she doing here?_

_May?_ Brock thought. _Wait, what?_

Pikachu and Piplup were doing and thinking the same thing. They looked at the three girls, gauging their emotional levels, then looked at Ash. _This could be trouble._ Piplup had an added thought to that though. _BIG trouble. Once they find out what Dawn did… Oh no._

----------

Patrick and Jane were laughing so hard they couldn't breathe. The look on Ash's face when Misty had come through that door was priceless. Coupled with the three girls glaring daggers at each other, this was going to be very entertaining.

Once the laughter had subsided, Jane pulled out her phone and dialed the number. "All the birds are in the nest. Proceed with the next phase of the plan."

"Yes ma'am. The city should initiate quarantine in the next hour."

Jane hung up the phone.

"How long is it going to last?" Patrick asked.

"No more than a couple days. Just long enough to keep them here, out of the way, while we finish up some loose ends in other places."

"Oh," Patrick said. "That."

"Yes. That."

----------

AN III: I will try to get another chapter up in the next week or so. I make no promises though. Please review and recommend! Penguin King, out ~


	6. Opening Gambit

Author's Note: So, we enter the next phase in Team Rocket's attempt to neutralize the threat they see in Ash and gang. I am going to do my best to make it convoluted, complex, and terribly confusing. The Three Catastrophic C's. But more on that later. Who else is dying to know what the confrontation between the three girls is going to go?

One more thing. I'm sorry that it took so long to update this. And that it is shorter than I would like. RL is hectic, as I'm sure you guys can imagine. So, in response to some unfriendly notes, I will not give a timeline for the next chapter in the story. It will get here when it gets here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, nor any of their characters. I do claim creative ownership of any characters outside the cannon and the plot of this story.

---------------------------

Misty closed the door to the guest room. Ash was asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, and Pikachu wasn't far behind. He tried to stay up, but he wasn't much of a match for Misty with him in his worn-out state. She had ushered him into bed, still clothed (minus shoes, of course), and tucked him in. Brock was in the kitchen, making drinks for everyone, and May and Dawn were in the living room. It still rubbed her the wrong way that those two trollops were here. It was supposed to be her and Ash. Why did everyone else have to be here with him? It was enough to make her want to scream.

Her footsteps sounded through the hallway as she went to the kitchen to help Brock with the drinks. Her irritation must have been showing, because when she stepped into the kitchen, Brock suddenly became very quiet, as if he was afraid to make a sound that would upset her. He had already poured everyone a soda of their choice into ice, and was trying to figure out how to hold four cups simultaneously. And failing miserably.

"Here, let me help you with those," Misty said, reaching for her glass of Dr. Pepper and May's Sprite.

Brock moved the glasses away. "No, no, that's okay. You just sit down and relax. I got it. Why don't you go in the room with May and Daaaa actually, sure, could you help me?" He pushed the glasses back in her direction. Misty rolled her eyes and grabbed the glasses. Taking a sip of hers, she followed Brock into the living room.

May was sitting in a chair, looking around, but distinctly avoiding the other person in the room. Dawn was laying stretched out on the couch, one arm hanging off, the other over her eyes. She looked exhausted.

"Dawn!" Misty yelled. Dawn jerked up, coming halfway to a sitting position, her arms coming up.

"I'm up," she said sleepily.

Brock shot Misty a reproachful look before giving Dawn her drink and taking a seat. Misty rolled her eyes, gave May her drink, and sat down in her favorite chair. "So," she began. "Who wants to tell me what's going on?" She took a sip from her glass, waiting for someone to start. Crossing her legs, she looked at May. "Why don't we start with you?"

May shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I was in Slateport getting ready for a competition, when I got a message from Ash. It said to meet him in Cerulean City, and that he needed me." She looked away when she said that last part, and Misty didn't miss the ever-so-slight pinkining of her cheeks. "I called in a favor and flew here. Really fast, I might add. I got here, and there was another message for me. This," She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. "List of instructions." May handed it to Misty. "And here I am."

Misty looked at the list of directions. "Okay. Was that the short version, or the long version?"

May glared at her. "Short."

Brock interrupted the impending fight. "Our story's a little more interesting."

"Okay. Why did Ash think I was dying, and look like he had been up for four days straight?"

Dawn, who had laid back down on the couch, raised her hand. "In answer to the second question, because he has been. He's been sick with worry since the first message. And since you didn't return any of his calls…"

Misty frowned at that. "He only called here once, and Daisy said that he looked to be in a rush. If I had called back, odds are I would have found Nurse Joy saying that he'd left."

Dawn shook her head and counted off on her fingers. "He called once when he got that first message. He got Daisy that time. Then he called again from the airport when we got there. Lily hung up on him before he could say ten words. Then before we left to fly to Celadon, twice. He got the machine both times."

"Then why did he think I was dying?"

Brock raised his hand. "He got a message in a Pokecenter, from Officer Jenney. It said there was an accident, and he should get here ASAP. When he called that first time, Daisy was in tears, said that you were in a bad way. I'd never seen him so intent on anything before like he was on getting here as soon as he could. Then when he called from the airport, Lily was laying on the guilt pretty thick. Basically said that it was his fault that you were in a bad way."

"Wait, hold on," Misty said. "When did he talk to Lily?"

"Um, it was night here. Two days ago?"

Misty blinked. "I'm going to kill her. She said that it was Derick." Brock and May gave Misty a weird look. Dawn looked to be asleep again. "See, Daisy's boyfriend had broken up with her, and she was crying and upset. That must have been when Ash called the first time, because when I got home she said that Ash had called. Then Lily got pissed about Derick calling, saying he wouldn't even turn on the video on his side."

"That's because the camera was broken on our side," Dawn volunteered.

Misty waved her hand. "Shush, I'm thinking."

"Why did Lily think it was Derick?" Brock asked.

"Our caller ID said it was Derick. You said he left some messages on the machine?" Misty stood up and went over to the answering machine.

"Yeah, two of them."

The machine displayed a solid digital 0. No messages. "There aren't any here. Either they didn't make it through or one of my sisters deleted them."

"Where are your sisters anyway?" Brock asked.

"They left on a road trip yesterday." Misty was deep in thought. Who would send Ash something saying that she was in trouble? "Brock, did Ash really send a message to May?"

He shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"Then who told me to fly out here?" May asked. "If not Ash, then who?"

"I don't know. They wanted us all here, though. But why?"

Brock started naming off some ideas. "Team Galactic isn't too happy with us right now."

"But then why would they involve me and May? We haven't done anything to them."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Guilt by association?"

Misty shook her head. "Next idea."

"Team Magma? Also less than happy with us."

"Why me and Dawn? Next."

Brock threw up his arms. "I don't know Misty. Team Rocket? They're the only organization that we've all crossed swords with."

Misty and May gave Brock a look. Even Dawn lifted her arm off her eyes to look at Brock. Misty gave voice to what they were all thinking. "Honestly Brock? Do you really think that Jesse, James, and Meowth could pull something like this off?"

"You know, there are more members of Team Rocket than those three."

"I know. I've met a few. And they've all been bumbling idiots. Let's face it, when it comes to organized crime, Team Rocket is falling out of it. They're full of incompetent… everythings."

"Then what do you think Misty? Who could pull strings to bring us all here? And why?"

Misty sat back down with a flop, chewing on a fingernail as she thought. Ash gets a message saying she was dying. All of his phone calls show up as Derick calling. May gets a message, supposedly from Ash saying that he needed her here. None of it made sense. Why? Who would do this? Who would benefit from this? What was there to gain? "I don't know, Brock. We need to do some serious research as soon as Ash gets his rest."

The clock ticked on the mantle. Tick, tick, tick, tick. "I could use some rest too," Brock said, standing up. "And I'm sure Dawn would appreciate a real bed instead of the couch."

Misty sighed. "I'll take you to the other guest rooms. What about you May? Do you want some rest too?"

She shook her head. "No thanks, I'm fine. I actually want to talk to you about something."

Misty nodded and stood up. Brock went over to Dawn and picked her up. He followed as Misty led them to the other rooms. Opening the first door, she gestured into the room. "Dawn can sleep here." Brock laid the sleeping girl onto the bed. Piplup was already asleep by the pillow, and Dawn's other Pokemon were in their balls on the desk. She rolled over, grabbing the pillow in both hands and pulled most of it into a hug, keeping only a little under her head. Closing the door, Misty led Brock to the next room. "This one's yours."

"Thanks Misty." He started for the bed, then stopped. He turned around and pulled her into a hug. "I'm glad you're okay, Misty. We were all really worried about you."

Misty hugged Brock back. "I know. But we'll get this all sorted out. I'll bet you money that this is all one big prank that some future dead man came up with."

Brock let her go. "I hope so. Night Misty."

She smiled. "Good night, Brock." She closed the door, and headed back to the living room.

---------------

Brock had just lain down on the bed when a thought suddenly struck him. _Crap,_ he thought. _I just left Misty and May alone in the same room. Please, God, PLEASE don't let them kill each other._

_------------------_

Misty came back into the room. May was still sitting on her chair. "Hi May. It's so good to see you again. Too bad it isn't under different circumstances." Misty went to her own chair and sat down.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?"

"Want to drop the pleasantries?"

"You bet."

The masks of friendship vanished, leaving glares of loathing in their place. Misty crossed her legs as she looked at May, analyzing. "So," she finally said. "I'm sure you must have been happy to get that 'note' from Ash. How does it feel now?"

"Oh, I don't know. Why don't you tell me in a few days when he leaves again? With me."

Misty chuckled. "In your dreams, _girl_. Ash has an open invitation to stay for as long as he wants. And I'm thinking that he's going to want to stay here for a while, to find out what's going on." May said nothing. "I'm actually very curious as to what's going on too. Do you have any idea what's happening?"

May was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "No, not a clue. But whoever it is wanted us all rounded up together. They have some pretty serious computer skills, too."

Misty's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do you say that?"

May rolled her eyes. "Please, isn't it obvious? Whoever orchestrated this had to have A) Sent a message with the identity signatures of the Cerulean City PD, and B) Sent a message with the ID of Ash."

Misty nodded, starring thoughtfully into space. "Yeah. They also had to hack the phone lines in real time and alter the caller ID whenever Ash called. There's probably only a couple people in the world who could do that. You'd need a super computer to handle the speeds. Or…." A thought clicked in Misty's head. "Adam."

May raised an eyebrow. "Who's Adam?" she asked nonchalantly, adding the name to the small list of blackmail possibilities against Misty.

"Adam," Misty said, voice dripping with venom, "Is a trainer. He also has a little crush on me. AND," she added with emphasis, "Works at the telephone company."

Misty could see the gears turning in May's head, and saw her expression when it all finally clicked into place. "Oh, I see. But why?"

Misty threw a hand out towards the guest area. "Hello. Ash practically killed himself trying to get here. And now that he's here, Adam has good opportunity to get rid of Ash."

"Okay," May responded. "But then, what about me?"

Misty shrugged her shoulders. "You and Dawn are probably spare strings for his bow. Contingency plans, in case his first one went wrong."

May shook her head. "I don't know. Something about that doesn't seem right. That seems like a lot of effort. Plus, don't you think he would have tried to do it a little more discreetly, you know, so all clues don't point straight at him on investigation?"

"No, it sounds like Adam. He's smart. Really smart. But, a big failing is he doesn't think that other people are smart. He expects us to sit here scratching our heads while he puts his plan into action."

May laughed once. "Boy, he's going to be in for a rude awakening tomorrow. When I get my hands on him…"

"Take a number, girl. I get first dibs."

"Yeah. If there's anything left after Ash gets through with him."

The two girls laughed. They looked at each other, smiling. Then they realized that they _were_ smiling, and dropped back into their aggressive frowns.

"Alright, May, if you're going to stay here I have a few ground rules."

"Of course I'm staying. Do you really think I'd leave you here with Ash un-chaperoned?"

"Like I said, ground rules," Misty repeated. "Number one, you don't get to be alone with Ash under this roof. Ever. Two, you get locked in every night."

May looked at Misty incredulously. "Excuse me?"

"I lock you in your room when you go to bed so you can't sneak out."

"That's crazy. Plus, it's unsafe. What if there's a fire?"

"Umm, May? You do realize that you're in the _water_ gym, right? I don't think fire will be much of a problem."

"It's still crazy."

Misty smirked. "I don't care. My roof, my rules. Take them, or leave them. It makes no difference to me. Same rules will apply to Dawn, so you don't need to worry about being singled out."

"And if I refuse?"

"You get to sleep in the Pokecenter. Three blocks away. And Ash gets to stay here, with me." Misty smiled.

"Why not just kick me out and be done with it?"

"I just might. The only reason I'm even giving you the choice is because Ash thinks of you as a _friend._"

May didn't have much of a choice. "Fine, I agree."

"I thought you might." Misty stood up. "Now, if you will follow me, I will show you to your rooms." Without even waiting for a response, Misty started walking. May jumped up and followed her. Turning down a hallway, Misty went down a few doors and opened one on the left. "This is your rooms. I hope you find them to your liking."

It was a big room. Very big. There was a large television against one wall, a few comfortable looking chairs, and a big queen sized bed. It even had its own bathroom. May wasn't quite sure how to respond. She had been expecting a cupboard under a stairwell somewhere. "Umm…thanks." May stepped into the room. "Looks comfortable."

Misty nodded. "It is. Do you have everything you need for the evening?" May nodded. "Good. Then I'll see you in the morning." Misty pulled the door closed and locked it with a key from her pocket. Replacing the key to its rightful place, Misty wandered the halls for a moment before retiring to her own suite of rooms. _I have to remember to let her out tomorrow. I hope I don't forget…_

---------------


	7. Love for Everyone

Authors Note: I humbly beg the forgiveness of everyone who reads this. It has been far too long since I wrote for this. But, no more! The drought of creativity is over, and my Muse likes me again. Enjoy!

--------------------

Fourteen hours later, Ash woke up in a strange room, with little recollection as to how he got there. He heard Pikachu's breathing beside him, slow and steady. That meant that they weren't in trouble with anyone. If there had been a problem, Pikachu would have woken him up, or at the least been up and about. He sat up in the bed, stretching his arms as the sheets fell down from his chest. He was still tired, but felt a lot more refreshed. Then the memories came back to him in an instant.

He jumped down from the bed, waking Pikachu up in the process. Ash ran out the door, Pikachu close on his heels, looking for someone, anyone. Just so that he knew that he hadn't been hallucinating, that Misty really was okay. He had heard that if you go without sleep for too long, you start dreaming while you're awake. He was afraid, truly afraid, that that is what happened. That or he fell asleep before they got to the gym, and he had dreamed it.

Ash turned a corner, skidding slightly on the floor, and saw her. Misty was standing by the stove in the kitchen, a wooden spoon in one hand, a spatula in the other, cooking something in a pan. She turned at the sound in the hallway, and a smile lit up her face.

"Ash! You're awake! We were expecting you to-"

Ash quickly closed the distance between them and pulled Misty into a hug, just to make sure that she was real. She felt real. She smelled real. She looked real. "You're real, aren't you? I'm not imagining this?"

He felt Misty swallow. "No, you're not imagining it. I'm real."

Ash took a half-step backwards, so he could get a better look at her. "You're not hurt?" She shook her head, and Ash smiled. "I'm so glad."

It looked like Misty was having a hard time breathing. "I made eggs. For brunch. Want some?" Ash nodded, unable to look away from her sparkling eyes. Someone off to the side coughed, breaking Ash out of his reverie. He let go of Misty and turned, finding Brock, May, and Dawn all seated around a round table. He felt his face heat up with embarrassment, pulling down his cap to hide his face. He didn't see the triumphant smile Misty had on her face as she turned back to her cooking.

Ash took a seat at the table, not really looking at where he was sitting. It happened to be the seat between May and Dawn, which caused Brock to cringe slightly. All was quiet for a while, the only sound coming from the eggs cooking in the kitchen. Then May turned slightly so that she was facing Ash. "Did you sleep alright?" she asked him, touching his arm with one hand.

His mind was still reeling slightly. "Yeah, I slept alright," he responded absently. He blinked a couple times, than seemed to come back to his senses. "But, what are you doing here?"

May shrugged. "I got a message from you. Or, it was supposed to be from you. It said to meet you here. So, here I am."

"But, I didn't send you a message."

"I know that NOW. But when I got it, I had no reason to think it wasn't you."

"So someone sent you a message in my name? Who would do that? Why?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Dawn chimed in. "That, and why someone said that Misty was hurt. It's all very confusing."

Brock nodded. "Someone tried pretty hard to get us all together. We have a couple ideas, but none of them make any real sense. Why bring us all together with stories that can easily be found to be false? I mean, it wasn't very subtle of them. As soon as we all got here, we figured out something was going on. That's why I still say it's Team Rocket. They never think things out all the way."

At that point Misty came in with the pan of scrambled eggs, setting it on the table among toast, hash browns, bacon, and sausages. "Dig in," she said as she put the spatula in the pan. Brock served himself first.

May pretended Misty hadn't come in. "We've talked about that already Brock. Jesse and James don't have the computer skills to hack into the phone lines."

"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "Plus, why would they try to get us all together? That just makes us stronger."

"And, we already have a suspect, remember?" Misty handed the plate of sausages over to Ash.

Brock rolled his eyes. "And all it will take is one conversation to prove that he's NOT a suspect Misty. Then what?"

Misty shook her head. "Trust me. He's the guy."

"Who's the guy?" Ash asked.

"Nobody, Ash. How's the food?"

Ash took a mouthful of hash browns and eggs and swallowed. "Delicious," he responded.

"Oh, I'm not so sure that 'nobody' is the appropriate word here," May said with a smile.

Ash furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? What would you say is the appropriate word?"

Misty shot May a warning glance, one that threatened retribution, and handed a piece of buttered toast to Dawn. May chose her next words carefully. Otherwise, she would be thrown out, and she couldn't have that happen just yet. "Well, he's an acquaintance of yours, isn't he Misty?"

Misty nodded slowly. "I suppose." Misty served herself last, and started eating.

"So, do you know where this guy is?"

"No, but I have a feeling that he won't be too hard to find. He's quite…distinctive." She waved her hand in the air, to brush off the conversation. She looked up at Ash and smiled. "Hey Ash, do you feel up for a swim after breakfast?"

Ash chuckled. "How about an hour after? I'd hate to get a cramp."

"Sounds good to me."

"Umm, don't you think we should try and figure this out first?" Brock asked.

Misty shrugged. "We won't be able to find him until he wants to be found. Who knows when that will be? All we can do is wait until he makes the next move." Brock seemed reluctant to accept that, but accept it he did. He didn't have much choice.

Ash looked around the kitchen for a moment, and then turned to Dawn. "Where are Piplup and Pikachu?"

She pointed out a window to a small yard. There were all of their Pokémon, eating some of Brocks food by the look of it. "They're out there. Pikachu ran out as soon as he smelled Brocks special recipe.

"What can I say? I make some good Pokéchow." Brock wanted to solve this, and solve it quickly. He knew that tensions were high, and having these three girls together was not a good idea. It was going to be very difficult keeping them from each other's throats. If he could keep them distracted, he might have a chance of keeping them alive. That, however, looked to be failing before it even started. _Why can't girls fight over me like that?_ Brock asked himself. It didn't seem fair that Ash, who was oblivious, got all this attention from girls while he couldn't seem to get attention.

Things had started to seem friendly again. May, Misty, and Dawn weren't being quite so open in their dislike of the other girls company, and May and Dawn had to be civil, lest Misty decide they were unwelcome. Misty also had to give off the impression of civility, for the benefit of Ash. He couldn't see that the foreign girls weren't a good match for him, but Misty thought it was all too obvious. Ash just needed to be enlightened to that fact.

Ash chanced a look at the television on the other side of the room. It was on a news station of some kind. The volume was down, so he couldn't hear what was being said, but he could read the news feed rolling across the bottom of the screen. "Hey, could someone turn that up?"

May grabbed the remote and turned up the volume as everyone turned to the screen. The anchorwoman was talking.

"-olice received reports last night that terror has stricken the cities outside of Cerulean. Under strict orders from the Cerulean City mayor, the city has been blockaded off from any and all outside traffic. With more on the story, here's Ryan Durand. Ryan?" The camera switched to a man standing on one of the major roads leading into Cerulean. There were police everywhere, and the road blocks were clear as day behind him.

"Thanks Theresa. I'm here at Route 6 where all traffic to and from Saffron City has been stopped. According to our sources, there have been severe cases of a supposedly mutated strain of the H1N1 virus. In an attempt to keep Cerulean City safe from this threat, it was decided that Cerulean City be blockaded off from the rest of the general population. There will be no coming to or going from the city until word is received that everything is safe. I'm Ryan Durand, channel 4 news."

Dawn reached for the remote and turned off the television. "So," she said. "Looks like we aren't going anywhere for a while."

May shook her head and stood up. "I don't like this. I'm going out for a walk." She headed for the front door.

"Don't get lost!" Misty called after her. _Please get lost,_ she said in her head. The door slammed closed in response. "That was rude," Misty said in response.

Dawn looked at those seated at the table and stood up too. "I think I'll go with her. See you later." She waved and followed after May, closing the door much more quietly.

"And I think I'll just…go." Brock stood up and walked out the door also, leaving Ash and Misty alone.

The two sat in silence for a while. Eventually, Misty had enough of it. "So, how about that swim?" she asked, unsure of what to do now that they were actually alone. Yeah, she had thought about it. Dreamed about it. Fantasized about it even. But for it to actually happen was sending her into a small panic attack.

Ash was equally unsure. "S-sure," he stammered. He stood up from the table. "I'll go get changed. Meet you at the pool?"

"Yeah." For some reason, she blushed, and stood up too, heading towards her room. "I'll meet you there." Misty walked until she turned a corner, where she was out of sight, and then sprinted to her room. _Ohmygodohmygod,_ she thought to herself. _What am I going to wear?_ She threw open her drawers and closet, going through swimsuit after swimsuit. _To revealing, not revealing enough, I don't want to look like a slut, but I don't want to look like a nun. No, no, no. No no no no no! How did I think any of these were acceptable!_ In no time at all, her room was strewn with bikinis, one-pieces, and thongs of all colors of the rainbow and every color in between, of every design you could think of, and not one of them was good. She glanced at the clock. _Crap! He's probably already there!_ Finally, she picked a green bikini with a silver pattern of swirls and waves. Hurriedly, she changed and, grabbing a towel on her way out, ran to the pool.

Ash was already there, and was swimming laps while waiting for her. She pulled out her hair thing as she watched him, letting her hair cascade down her back.

Ash wasn't a big guy, but he was toned. Traveling did that to a person. All the long days, weeks, months, years of walking had trimmed off all excess fat and gave him the legs of Adonis. Plus the constant training helped keep his arms and chest sculpted. She continued watching him for a while, until it looked like he was going to look up. Misty didn't want Ash to catch her staring at him. She made a short run, jumped, and did a jack knife five feet in front of him, surprising him enough that he gasped, swallowing a little water. He came up for air, coughing, as Misty swam around behind him.

She laughed a playful, cheery laugh. "You should have seen the look on your face. It was hilarious!"

Ash finished coughing and glared at her. "I'm sure it was," he said in a deadpan voice.

Misty did a fake pout. "You're not mad at me, are you?"

Ash sighed. "No, I'm not mad at you. I'm still getting over the fact that you aren't dying."

Misty raised an eyebrow at that. "Would you rather I was dying?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Than what did you mean?"

"Misty." Ash made as if to reach out to her, but stopped his hand before it went too far. He clenched his hand into a fist and brought it up to his head before putting it by his side, under the water. "Misty, you know you mean a lot to me, right? You're the best friend I've ever had."

"I don't know. May and Dawn seem like pretty good friends."

"But they're nothing like you. When I thought that you were dying, I went a little crazy. No, that's a lie. I went completely off the deep end. I almost killed myself and my Pokémon to get here to you. I wasn't going to let you die. Not even if it meant I had to give you my own heart for you to live. To me, life would almost not be worth living without you."

Misty looked at him, her heart beating. "What are you saying, Ash?"

"Misty, I…"

"…Yes?"

"I lo-"

------------

EARLIER

------------

Piplup was plotting. They were all deep in enemy territory, and had to move cautiously. Dawn had to win, at all costs. Piplup liked Ash. He was a good guy, and would treat Dawn right. That was important. Plus, with all the craziness they've gone through together, they were the best of friends. Dawn liked Ash, and Ash liked Dawn. Now the hard part was getting Ash to realize it.

A plan was hatching, and Piplup was sure it would work. First, she had to get rid of that 'Misty' character. The easiest way to do that would be to make her mad at Ash. Piplup was sure that if the provocation was great enough, Misty would forget about Ash and move on to someone else.

The little penguin looked inside, to see what they were doing, and received a shock. May was gone. Dawn was getting up and following her. (No!) Piplup squeaked. (My plans!) Brock followed after the two girls out the door, leaving Ash and Misty alone. (No no no no no! This could ruin everything!) They were talking, but Piplup couldn't quite make out what was going on.

(You may as well get over it,) a haughty voice said behind her. Piplup whirled around to find a smirking Pikachu. (Dawn really doesn't have a chance against Misty.)

Piplup glared at the mouse. (We'll see about that,) Piplup declared, stomping off. She had to stop them from being too friendly. Or, better yet, friendly at all. Looking over her shoulder, Piplup saw Pikachu looking at the two sitting at the table. They had just agreed to something and were leaving the table. Thinking she could get to the door, Piplup made a dash for it. Suddenly, Pikachu was there, on all fours, blocking the way in.

(I don't think so. Let's just let nature take its course, shall we?) Pikachu, it turned out, was way too fast for Piplup to beat. But what he said gave the blue bird an idea. She didn't let that reflect on her face though. Instead, she stomped over to where Dawn's other Pokémon were talking and sat down, crossing her wings in front of her. Pikachu watched Piplup for a moment longer before moving back to a bowl of food. He seemed engaged enough that he wouldn't eavesdrop.

(Hey, Buneary,) Piplup whispered.

(Yeah?)

(I need you to do a favor for me.)

Buneary looked a little suspicious. (What kind of favor?)

(Do you think you could distract Pikachu for me for a little bit?)

Buneary blushed and hid her face in her fluff. (Yeah, I could,) she answered around her fluff. (Why?)

(I need to get inside, but Pikachu won't let me. Could you distract him so I can get inside? And keep him distracted for a while?)

(Why do you need to get inside?)

(Duh,) Piplup said. (So I can keep Ash away from that red-haired girl. Dawn belongs with Ash, not Misty.)

(Actually, May belongs with Ash,) said a voice behind Piplup. She jumped, startled, and turned around to find May's Glaceon. What was it with other Pokémon sneaking up on her? (But I agree. Misty needs to go. You have a plan, I hope?)

(Well, sort of a plan. It's really more of a delaying tactic.)

(Delaying for what, may I ask?) Glaceon was defiantly reluctant in this partnership.

(Delaying for Dawn to realize that she left Ash alone with her biggest competition.)

(Second biggest, but yes, I agree. What do you need me to do?)

(Actually,) Piplup said, (I don't need you to do anything. Buneary here's going to seduce Pikachu enough so that he doesn't follow after me.)

Glaceon looked Buneary up and down. (You're going to seduce Pikachu? Don't make me laugh. I'll do it. At least that way, he won't laugh his tail off at your pathetic attempts.)

(Excuse me?) Buneary said indignantly. (I'm not some frigid know-it-all who's better at intimidating than seducing.) She put one paw on her hip and waved the other toward Glaceon. (I'm warm, furry, and cute. You're cold, prickly, and, let's face it, not much to look at.)

(Alright,) Glaceon scoffed. (If you think you're oh so special, go ahead.) Glaceon stepped out of Buneary's way. (Get him to take you seriously.)

(I will.) And with that, Buneary hopped over to Pikachu.

Piplup sighed deeply. Ice types were always so manipulative. Buneary didn't really stand a chance once Glaceon decided what she wanted done. Buneary had played right into Glaceons hand.

It took Buneary all of thirty seconds before she couldn't speak to Pikachu properly and hid in her fluff, hopping away, too embarrassed to look at anyone.

(Did you really have to do that to Buneary?) Piplup asked Glaceon.

(It amused me,) Glaceon said, walking over at a slow pace. She passed Pikachu, gave him a 'come hither' look, and continued walking, the tip of her tail brushing Pikachu's nose.

Piplup shook her head as she made her way to the door. Males. All it took was a pretty piece of tail and they were no longer in control of themselves, practically slaves for all intents and purposes.

Once inside, Piplup began wandering around, trying to find where Ash had gone. She stumbled through bedrooms, workout rooms, bathrooms, every room but the right room. Until, finally, she stumbled into the swimming room. And there was Ash and Misty, separated by a few feet of water.

Piplup got there just in time.

"Misty, I…" she heard Ash say.

Piplup started running toward the edge of the pool.

"…Yes?" Misty responded. She reached the edge of the pool and jumped.

"I lov-"

"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiipppp!!!!" Piplup let out a cry as she hurtled towards Ash's head.

Ash turned his head on reflex, and Piplup tackled him, throwing both of them in the water.

"Oh my god, Ash! Are you alright?" Misty reached under the water and pulled Ash and Piplup up.

Ash coughed for a bit, trying to expel the water from his lungs. Piplup holding onto Ash's neck like he was a lifeline didn't help any. Finally, he recovered enough to pull Piplup off of his neck. But as soon as he got the little penguin off, she started crying and reaching for him. "Pipipipipipipipipip!" Ash put Piplup back on his shoulder, where she clung to his neck. She made a satisfied "Plup," and glared at Misty.

Misty was taken aback by the little Piplup. "That's Dawns, isn't it?"

Ash nodded, patting Piplup on the head. "I don't know what got into her. Maybe she got scared when she couldn't find Dawn."

The mood effectively ruined, Misty floated on her back. "Let's just swim for a bit, than. Until Dawn gets here to collect her Piplup."

Ash shrugged and floated on his back. Misty propelled herself through the water until she was next to Ash, opposite Piplup. Reaching out with her hand, she grabbed Ashes. He responded by lacing his fingers in hers. There was no need for words just then. At that moment, everything was perfect.

-------------------------------------------

ANII: So, what did you think? Was it a decent return to the story? Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear from you. Until next time, Penguin King out~


	8. 0 Degrees of Seperation from Giovanni

Wohoo! Another chapter! And pretty soon, too. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself.

Magus Black: Thank you, sir Oracle of Blades. It is good to be back.

Darkpokemaster: Don't count on it.

Mastermind: I have to agree with you on that.

H1tm0nl33: I'm glad that I can inspire such feelings in other people. It makes me feel good about my writing

Ipride21: Really? Could you please show me where? Regardless, for this story, Piplup is female. And it IS a pokeshipping story. Everyone already knows who's going to win. But don't worry your little head about it; I know what I'm doing. Just wait and see.

Mike: Thank you. I try to be awesome.

Hedgi: Allow me to direct you to this picture.

.com/albums/pp1/Penguin_King/POKEMON__Misty_versus_Dawn_by_

Now, on to the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, Ace Ventura, or the Super Friends. Those belong to Nintendo, Warner Bros., and DC (which is part of Warner Bros., oddly enough, but I digress). I do own characters outside the canon and this plot line. That is all.

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice….. Just kidding. Outside the Gym….

May was lost in thought as she walked along the pathways of Cerulean City. She didn't really know where she was going, just wandering aimlessly through the city. Walking helped her think, clear her mind. Things were NOT going as she had planned them to, and that irked her to no end. She had been so sure that things would turn out how she had imagined them to. So sure that Ash would be with her. But now…

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. No, she could still get things to turn out how she had planned them to. She just had to think. Maybe bounce her ideas off of an impartial third party. Unfortunately, she didn't know anyone in Kanto. Brock wasn't a good person to ask. Dawn and Misty were definitely NOT impartial. Who did that leave?

May hit her forehead with her palm. Duh! Her mom! If anyone could give her advice on how to handle a thick headed guy, it was her. With that in mind, May started for the Pokecenter. She didn't get very far, however, before she heard running footsteps behind her. "May! Wait up!" A voice called behind her. May turned around, confused, to find Dawn running after her. _What does she want?_ May thought to herself as she waited for the running girl to catch up. When Dawn was almost next to her, May started walking again, and Dawn slowed her pace to match.

"Thanks for waiting," Dawn said, only a little out of breath.

"No problem," May replied, suspicion coloring her voice slightly. "What's up?"

"I need your help for something." Dawn was blushing a little, but May put that to the run.

_What could she possibly need from me?_ "Yeah, sure. What do you need help with?"

Dawn looked down, away from May, and started fiddling with her hands. _Now that's odd,_ May thought speculatively. _Did her face get a little redder?_

"Well, it's kind of embarrassing, but I can't really ask anyone else."

May waited a minute, but Dawn didn't say anything after that. "Go on," she said.

"It's about Ash. And Misty."

"What about them?"

"I kind of have an idea that might make Misty really mad at Ash." She said it all in a rush, and then blushed again.

_This girl sure blushes a lot._ May turned a corner to take them to the Pokecenter. "And why would you want to do that?"

"Well, because Misty's competition."

May tried to look surprised. "Competition for what?" May asked incredulously.

Dawn looked down at her hands again. She mumbled something, but May couldn't quite make out what she said.

"Could you say that a little louder? I couldn't hear you."

"Ash," Dawn said. "Competition for Ash."

May stopped suddenly, surprising Dawn. She didn't say anything. She just stared at Dawn for a while. "So am I," she said finally.

"I know," she said meekly, looking unsure of herself. "But neither of us has much of a shot with Misty in the picture."

"True," May admitted, continuing on her walk. "Let's go grab some coffee, and we can talk about your plan, see if it has any merit to it."

Dawn smiled, following May. "Sounds good to me," she said. _Gullible fool,_ she thought. _Let's see if I can pull this off._

Max woke to find himself in darkness, on a hard, uncomfortable bed. "Hello?" he asked, afraid. "Is anyone there?" There was no response. Just an eerie quiet.

Abruptly, the room filled with lights. Max raised his arm to protect his eyes from the light. They were _really_ bright. "Hello?" With the lights on, Max had a better look at the room, but everything was blurry without his glasses. He groped around the bed to find a small table. On them were his glasses. Max put them on, and could see better.

It was a very small room, no more than ten by ten. The only furniture was his bed, the small table, and a single chair. On the wall was a medium sized mirror. "Hello?" he asked again, louder. He was really starting to get afraid now. "Mom? Dad? Where are you!?" He curled himself up into a ball on the bed.

There was the sound of hissing air off to the side. Max looked up, startled by the sound. It looked like a section of the wall was moving into the room. It stopped, and out stepped a woman in a lab coat holding a clipboard. She was pretty, with long legs and shoulder length strawberry-blonde hair, but Max didn't take any notice of that. She smiled at him and headed for the chair. The wall section moved back into the wall to blend seamlessly into nothing.

"Hello," the woman said, bringing the chair closer to the bed Max was still sitting on. She sat on the chair and crossed her legs. "My name is Brigitte. What's your name?"

Max looked at the Brigitte suspiciously, still afraid. "Where am I?"

"You're someplace safe."

"Where are my mom and dad?"

"Safe."

"What about my Pokémon?"

Brigitte chuckled. "They're all safe, dear. You don't need to worry about them."

"I want to see them."

"In time, you can. Now, how about you tell me your name?"

Max was still cautious, and rightly so. He had been abducted from his room for crying out loud! Why was he going to answer this woman's questions? "No," he said in response, turning his back on the woman.

"Alright," Brigitte said. Max heard her stand up and walk away, the panel of wall hissing as it protruded from the wall. "I'll be back in a few hours with lunch. Anything in particular you want?" No response. "Alright. Bye," she said pleasantly. Her footsteps disappeared behind the panel as it hissed closed. Then he was alone.

"Where am I?" he asked the empty room, tears forming in his eyes.

"I see the interview went well," Giovanni said to Brigitte as she returned to the control room.

She shrugged. "It went about how I expected. In time he'll open up to me. I am going to be the only one he'll see for a good long while."

Giovanni looked through the one way glass on his side. It looked like a mirror to Max. The child had gotten up off the bed and gone to inspect the wall where the door was. He couldn't find the seam, no matter how hard he looked. He tried pounding on it, to see if it might bounce out a little, but to no avail. Giovanni turned on his heel and walked out of Max's control room and into a hallway. "How are the others?"

Brigitte looked at her clipboard. "Norman is furious, wanting to know about his wife and kids. His wife is the same. The Slate parents are only worried about their children. The children are all upset. The Waterflower sisters are crying. Johanna is worried about her daughter. And I was just about to go talk to Delia. She's right over this way." Brigitte led the way down a hall off to the left. They went a short way and stopped. She indicated a door. "You can wait in the control room if you'd like, sir."

Giovanni waved away the suggestion. "Actually, I think I'll conduct this one."

"Sir?" Brigitte asked.

"I'll talk to her." He went to a keypad next to the wall and entered a code. A section of the wall moved out and Giovanni walked behind it. He was in another room, the Waypoint. The wall closed in behind him with a hiss and a thunk.

"Voice recognition," a computerized voice said.

"Giovanni."

"Voice confirmed. Heartbeat sensor confirmed one visitor. Please step forward for retinal scanning." Giovanni stepped forward. There was a bright light, and the voice came up again. "Match confirmed."

The wall in front of him slid forward into the next room. Giovanni stepped out from behind the panel, waiting for it to close before he proceeded any further into the room. He heard the hissing stop and took a few steps forward. Delia Ketchum was sitting in the chair, facing him. She seemed unconcerned and unsurprised. Giovanni stood in front of her with his hands clasped behind his back. "Hello, Delia."

"Hello Giovanni. How have you been?"

He shrugged. "I've been alright. And you? It's been…what, sixteen years?"

Delia nodded. "Yeah, something like that. I've been alright. There's been surprisingly little to do since Ash left the house. Mostly I clean. You know, be the normal house wife. I entertain friends too. One of them has probably reported me missing by now."

Giovanni nodded. "Yes, Professor Oak reported you missing yesterday, but the police said to call at forty-eight hours. That will be…" He looked at his watch. "In about an hour."

Delia laughed. "I always thought that was a funny rule. In forty-eight hours, you could be on the other side of the world. Which, knowing you, I probably am."

Giovanni nodded. "True. So, you're probably wondering why you're here."

She smiled. "The thought had crossed my mind."

"Would you believe me if I said it's because of your son?"

Delia sighed. "I've told that boy to be careful. But does he ever listen to his mother? No. He goes and sticks his nose in places it doesn't belong. Just like his father."

"In more ways than one, apparently. Your son has gone a long way towards messing up my plans."

"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

"No, I guess it doesn't."

The two said nothing for a while, just looking at each other. "You know," Delia started, "you broke your promise."

Giovanni smiled. "Yes, I'm aware of that.

"I'm just saying; don't be surprised when he shows up."

"Oh, I designed this place with him in mind. I'm confident that we can stop him from getting inside."

"It's not like you to underestimate your opponents, Giovanni. Your age must be making you forgetful."

He shook his head. "I'm not underestimating him. I just think that I finally got the defenses down, that's all."

"If you say so." Delia looked around the room. "So, am I the only one you decided to kidnap?"

"Nope. Your son has involved quite a lot of people in his adventures. Nineteen is the count, I believe."

"Wow. You've sure outdone yourself."

"Actually, it was pretty easy. I have long arms, Delia."

"I know, I know. I haven't forgotten. Not long enough, however, to catch my husband. He'll hear about this, don't you doubt it. And he won't be happy."

"No, I don't suppose he will." Giovanni looked into the mirror for a bit. "Still, I can't do nothing. Like I said, your son has done a great deal of damage to my organization. Almost as much as your husband."

Delia smiled. "That will make him proud."

"Your son has a weakness that his father doesn't, though."

"Oh? And what is that?"

Giovanni held up a finger. "He doesn't know I'm coming for him. It was nice to see you again, Delia. Maybe next time, it won't be under such dire circumstances." Giovanni turned to the wall and started walking. The panel started to open up.

"Giovanni."

He stopped and half turned to look at Delia. "Yes?"

"You'd do well not to underestimate my son, either."

Giovanni turned back to the panel. "See you later, Delia," he said as he disappeared behind the closing panel. Once it was closed, he went through the Waypoint process again before emerging from the other side. Brigitte was there waiting for him.

"Sir? How do you know her?"

Giovanni headed toward the exit of the holding complex. "That is above your pay grade, dear."

"Then what about the man you were talking about? Her husband?"

"Also, above your pay grade. Be at ease knowing that the people who need to know of it know of it, and that all precautions have been taken."

Brigitte was going to question that, but decided she liked her job too much. "Yes sir," she said, falling into step behind him, their footsteps echoing around them in the hallways of the silent complex.

Dawn took a sip from her cup of coffee, enjoying the flavor of it. Her mom never let her have coffee at home. But, since she wasn't here to tell Dawn off for it, she thought she would splurge a little. "So, what do you think?" Dawn asked May. Dawn just finished outlining her plan for May. Well, part of her plan. The part that included her.

"Let's see if I got this down." May put down her cup and put her hands on the table. "We're trying to get Misty mad at Ash. But to do that, she has to be mad at me?"

Dawn nodded. "Yup."

"And we're going to do that by having me try to kiss Ash?"

"Uh huh."

"Explain to me how that makes sense?"

"Well, if she's mad at you, she'll kick you out. But she'd do it right in front of Ash. What do you think he would do if Misty kicked you out for what is, to him, not such a big deal? He'll leap to your defense, that's what. Putting him on your side, and against Misty. So not only will she be mad at you for trying to steal him, but she'll be mad at him for defending you trying to steal him."

May picked up her cup again and took a sip. "It sounds like you really thought this out."

Dawn nodded, proud of her plan.

"No. I don't like it."

Dawn frowned. "Why not?"

"I think you've thought this out a little too well. If you can think a way for Misty to get mad like that, then what's to make me think you don't have a similar plan in place for me?"

Dawn looked at her in wide-eyed surprise. "What do you mean? I don't know you that well. Ash doesn't really talk about you, so I can't guess at what you would do."

May cocked an eyebrow. "He doesn't talk about me?"

Dawn shook her head. "No, not really. I mean, he'll mention you in passing sometimes, but he talks about Misty more."

May looked at Dawn in a flat stare. _She's lying, I know she is. She has a plan for me, I just know it. So let's put a wrench in her plans._ She shook her head. "No. It's too risky. Ash will be mad at me afterwards." She thought about it for a while, than snapped her fingers. "I got it. Why don't you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Try to kiss Ash."

Dawn blushed. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"But you thought it was a good idea for me?"

"Ash has known you longer than me. He might be a little more receptive if it was you."

May shook her head. "No. I think we should switch roles. You're the one who's spent the most time with him recently. You try to kiss Ash, and I'll make sure Misty is there."

Dawn looked into her coffee. "If you really think that will work better..."

"I do."

Dawn shrugged. "Okay. I just hope nothing is happening back at the Gym."

May shook her head. "I don't think we have much to worry about. Brock is back there. They won't do anything with him watching over them. "

"What about me?" Brock sat down at the table with May and Dawn, taking a sip from his cup. The two looked at him as if he had grown an extra head, and then it said something unimaginably rude. "Is something wrong?"

May reached out with both hands and grabbed Brock by the collar of his shirt, pulling him closer. "Why aren't you back at the gym?!"

"I-I-I thought it would be nice for Ash and Misty to have some alone time."

"No!"

"But Ash practically killed himself getting here, and they don't want me hanging around every second."

May let go of Brock and stood up, turning to Dawn. "We have to get back there now. Who knows what's happened."

"Right, let's go." Dawn stood up, and the two took off back towards the gym, leaving Brock at the table.

Brock sighed, and took another sip of his drink before following them at a walk. This was not going to be pretty.

Piplup was still firmly attached to Ash's neck when he got out of the pool. Misty followed suit, wrapping her towel around herself. "Alright Piplup. Time to get off." Ash reached up and grabbed Piplup. He tried to pull the little penguin off of him, but she just didn't want to let go.

Misty laughed at the sight of the two struggling against each other. "You guys go get dressed. I'll meet you in the living room in a bit."

Ash sighed as he resigned from his struggles with the blue bird. "You know, you're making things really difficult here." She didn't seem to care. Accepting that he wouldn't be free of Piplup until Dawn got back, he headed to his room to get changed into his regular clothes. _I wonder how long those guys are going to be anyways. It's odd that they're all gone at the same time like this._ He shrugged it off as an odd coincidence as he walked into his room. It was then that Piplup decided to let go of him and wander outside. "Great," he muttered after her. "NOW you decide to let go of me. Why couldn't you have decided that ten minutes ago?" Shaking his head in frustration, he changed back into his jeans, shirt, and cap. Checking his pocket to be sure the lure was still there, he walked outside to try and find Misty. He didn't go five steps before Ash felt Piplup latch onto his ankle. He looked down at her in disbelief. She just looked back up at him with an innocent face. "Plup?"

"I don't believe it."Ash continued walking, with Piplup squeaking in delight every time he lifted the leg she was holding onto. "Is it going to be like this every time Dawn is gone?" Piplup didn't answer. Not that he expected her to. Ash walked into the living room and sat down on the left end of the couch. To keep Piplup happy, he lifted his leg up and down in the air, lifting the Pokémon up and down. He smiled at the little penguin having fun.

"Oh, that's so cute."

Ash turned to see Misty at the entryway of the living room. He smiled at her and patted the seat next to him. Misty was walking over to sit there when Glaceon jumped up onto the couch and lay down on that spot, with her head on Ash's lap. Misty laughed again. "Those Pokémon really like you, don't they Ash?"

He nodded. "I guess so. I didn't know they liked me this much."

"It must be because you're a great trainer. They can sense that, you know." Misty sat down next to Glaceon on the couch, petting her. She must have rubbed her the wrong way, because the Glaceon's fur prickled under her hand, scratching her palm. She shook her hand in the air. "Ow. That hurt Glaceon." The Pokémon didn't respond. "So, was there anything in particular you wanted to watch?"

Ash thought for a moment. "Have any good movies?"

Misty nodded. "A couple. What do you feel in the mood for?"

"I don't know. You pick. Something you like."

Misty stood back up. "Alright. I'll be right back." Misty walked into what looked like a little closet and turned on the lights. It was about the size of the guest rooms, and all four walls were filled with DVDs, sorted by genre and then alphabetically. "Let's see, let's see, what to watch…" Misty wandered over to the romance section. "Maybe an old one, a classic." Her hand hovered above Gone with the Wind, about to pick it, when she heard the front door opening.

"Hello! We're back! Where are you guys?"

"In the living room!" Ash called back.

_Great. They had to come back now, of all times._ Misty left the romance section and walked to the comedy section. She looked over the rows before coming to a rest on Ace Ventura: Pokémon Detective. "Alllllllllllrighty then," she said as she turned off the light and entered the living room again. "Hey guys. Feel up to a movie?"

May was on the couch next to her Glaceon, stroking the Pokémon's fur. "Sure. Is it something good?"

Dawn was on the chair closest to Ash, Piplup in her lap. "Is it funny?"

Misty kept her face from betraying the feelings of anger she had. "Yes to both," she said, walking over to the DVD player. She turned on the TV, put the DVD in, and sat down on the only open spot, the other chair in the room. The one that was as far away as possible to be from Ash. _Why didn't he save my spot?_ she asked herself sullenly as she pushed play on the remote. _We were having such a good time too…_

Night had fallen on the Snowpoint Base. All was quiet, save for the wind across the frozen ground. The lookouts were told that they had to watch out for anything that might be suspicious. There were persons of interest being held in the base, and there was a possibility that someone might try to break them out. The head watchman was looking through night vision binoculars, scouring the flat land around them for signs of anything unusual.

"Sir!" one of the junior watchmen called. "There's something out over on the west side. It looks like someone just started a fire."

Turning to the west, the head watchman looked out to it. Yup. There was a fire. It hadn't been there a moment ago when he last looked. Someone had just started that fire. When it was already dark. In a frozen land constantly plagued by unpredictable weather. Oh yeah, something was up. "Lieutenant!" the man called.

"Yes Captain?" the lieutenant responded to his right.

"I want you to assemble a scouting party. I think you should go for a Zulu arrangement."

"Zulu, sir?" Zulu was code. Not only did it mean Z when they were spelling, but it was also what they called a group of Pokémon with high offensive and defensive capabilities. It was almost the equivalent of sending a group of tanks. Almost, because a Zulu was more effective.

"Yes, Zulu. Quickly. I don't want to take any chances."

The lieutenant saluted. "Right away sir."

A few minutes later, the lieutenant was on a snowmobile with five other men behind him. They were all chosen because of the Pokémon they worked with. However, because of the difficulty in working with that Pokémon, they only had one, with the exception of the lieutenant, who had two. All in all, there were seven Pokémon: A Dragonite, Salamence, Metagross, Tyranitar, Garchomp, Golem, and an Alakazam.

The team sped across the ground towards the fire. Even without binoculars, the glare against the darkness was a telltale sign of where to go. It was a matter of minutes before they were close to the spot. They stopped a ways away, so as not to alert the person who had made his camp there. The lieutenant used the radio on the snowmobile before they left. "Captain, we're proceeding on foot. We will let you know what it was when we return."

The voice that came back was garbled, barely recognizable. "Very good lieutenant. Proceed."

The lieutenant hung the radio back on the receiver and turned to his men. "Alright, let's go. Quietly. Keep your Pokémon at the ready."

The men nodded at him, taking out their Pokéballs, and followed him across the plain. It wasn't long before they reached the fire. It was on the edge of the evergreen forest that surrounded the Snowpoint base. _Some people don't care if they start a forest fire,_ the lieutenant thought as he went to go put out the fire.

He was about to kick some snow over the flames when a voice came from the trees. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you."

Everyone jerked to the source of the noise. There, just inside the glow of the fire, was a man. He was sitting on the branch of a tree, his back to the trunk. He was wearing a green parka and a cap, pulled down over his eyes. "It can get pretty cold out here," he continued. "Last thing you want is to be caught outside without a fire to keep you warm."

On the lieutenant's signal, everyone released their Pokémon. "Sir, you're going to have to come with us. This is private property, and you are trespassing. Please come down from that tree."

The man in the tree lifted up his cap and looked at the assembly of Pokémon. He sighed, shaking his head. "I swear, you guys need to learn more about your Pokémon. Honestly, who would bring dragon Pokémon out into a frozen wasteland like this? Everyone knows that dragons don't do well with ice."

"Sir! Come down from that tree, now," the lieutenant said more firmly. "Or, we will make you."

"Calm down, calm down, no need to get all snippy. What will happen if I do come down?"

"We will escort you to the edge of the premises and leave you there."

"You see, that doesn't suit me too well. I need to get in your base, actually."

The lieutenant let out a small chuckle. "I don't think that will be happening anytime soon."

The man shrugged. "Sooner than you think."

Nodding to his Garchomp user, the lieutenant said "Get him down from there."

The man in the tree said one word. "Weavile."

A shadow parted from a branch of one of the trees. With incredible speed, the shadow closed with the Garchomp and landed two quick strikes to its midsection, the ends of its fists glowing blue, before jumping up and giving it an uppercut. The combination sent the Pokémon reeling, starting to fall backwards. The shadow continued with the motion of the strike to do a full back flip. Landing both its feet on the falling Garchomp, the shadow pushed off with incredible force, launching itself to the other side of the fire from the group, the ends of its fists still glowing blue. There was a mighty thud as the Garchomp fell on its back, shaking the ground with the force of its impact. The Pokémon was clearly unconscious from the onslaught it had received.

Now that the shadow was still, the lieutenant could see that it really was a Weavile. The fastest Weavile he had ever seen. It wasn't even breathing hard from its recent exertion. He turned to the Garchomp handler. "Take your Pokémon and head back to base. Radio that we found a hostile and are engaging. Now."

"I'm afraid you're a little too late for that," the man in the tree said. "You'll find that your radio is beyond repair, and your batteries drained. You're stuck here."

"Go!" the lieutenant urged. The Garchomp handler returned the Pokémon to its ball and ran to the snowmobiles. He turned back to the man in the tree. "You got lucky on that one. Garchomp was weak, especially against those ice punches I'm sure your Weavile was using."

The man clapped his hands. "Bravo. So you do have a brain. So I'm sure you can guess what's going to happen to those other Pokémon you brought."

"Yup. They're going to cream that Weavile. Even with its speed, there's no way it can take out all six of the other Pokémon before one of them takes it down."

The man laughed once. "Maybe you don't have a brain. Look at your Pokémon. If we don't count Garchomp, three of the others are weak against ice, and Weavile's just getting warmed up."

"That still leaves us with three others who aren't weak against it."

The man gasped. "He can do math. Amazing!"

The lieutenant had just about had enough of this. "Men, attack. It's just one Pokémon."

As if on cue, two other Pokémon stepped out from the shadows of trees and into the firelight. The first one was a Gallade. It stood up straight, bowed towards the opponent Pokémon, and took up a fighting stance. The other was an Infernape. It had been keeping its head-flame low while it was hiding. But now that a fight was on the way, it let the fire roar. And roar it did as the Infernape took up its fighting position also. "What kind of trainer do you think I'd be if I only had one Pokémon?" the man in the tree asked. He shook his head and jumped down from the tree branch. "It's amazing how little brain power you need to be an officer these days." He took his cap and turned it backwards so the bill wouldn't obstruct his view. The man had short, spiky black hair and penetrating green eyes. He smiled slightly at the prospect of the coming battle.

"Men, attack!" All of the trainers yelled commands at their Pokémon, expecting to crush the team before they had a chance to attack. They had all picked their targets according to type advantages. Alakazam and Metagross were eyeing Infernape for a double Psychic blast, while Tyranitar started a charge at Gallade, roaring as it closed. Dragonite and Salamence took off into the air to provide aerial cover, watching out for any long range attacks from the Weavile while Golem did a rollout at the small Pokémon.

The man saw what was going on. "Weavile, run Psychic cover for Infernape!" The Pokémon was a shadow across the ground as it ran in front of the fighting Pokémon, jumping in the air to take the full concentration of the attacks, which were rendered ineffective against the dark Pokémon. Infernape reached out and grabbed the Weavile as it flew in front of him so he didn't go jumping into a nearby tree.

"Gallade, dodge the Tyranitar, and watch for the aerials. Infernape, throw Weavile at Alakazam." Gallade wasn't the fastest of Pokémon, but he was nimble. The Tyranitar came charging in, mouth open, preparing a hyper beam. Gallade ran straight towards the Tyranitar. At the last moment before the huge Pokémon released its hyper beam, Gallade took a single step to the left. Expecting the foe Pokémon to try to run that way, Tyranitar threw its head to try and follow it. It hadn't expected the Gallade to turn a circle and move off to the right. Unable to stop, Tyranitar shot its attack into the trees. The sound of cracking wood, and the ensuing explosion of the attack, filled the still night air. Gallade skidded to a stop just behind the Tyranitar. He ran at the back of the recharging Pokémon, running up its spine, and then jumping into the air towards the circling flying Pokémon. At the moment Gallade went into the air, there was a roar in the air around it as a flamethrower and a dragon rage were launched at where Gallade had been a moment before, on Tyranitar. The two attacks missed Gallade, but did hit their ally. The result of the combined attack was deafening, but the force launched Gallade up higher and faster. The flying Pokémon hadn't expected this, and Gallade flew right at Salamence, lashing out with a Psycho Cutter as the two passed each other in the air.

At the same time, Infernape hurled Weavile at the foe Alakazam. The Pokémon couldn't get out of the way fast enough to avoid the dark Pokémon, its claws leaving a black trail from using Night Slash. Futilely, Alakazam tried to use Psychic to slow the oncoming Weavile, but it had no effect. Weavile struck it in the chest, bringing it to a halt while propelling Alakazam backwards with frightening force before it was brought to a stop by the tree behind it.

Meanwhile, Golem had turned around and was now aiming for Infernape. The monkey Pokémon jumped into the air, dodging the oncoming attack, somersaulting so that it faced the rock Pokémon as it turned for another attack. Infernape was too distracted by the Golem to notice that Metagross was preparing another Psychic attack. Infernape just jumped into the air again, and Metagross was about to attack, when a blur crossed its vision. Standing in front of Metagross was a large, yellow and black furred Pokémon, one arm drawn back to strike. Recognizing the danger it was in, Metagross unleashed its attack on its new opponent at the same time it was struck with an incredibly fast, strong, thunder punch. The attacks slid their targets backwards a few feet before they stopped, leaving them facing each other.

"It's about time, Electivire. Was there not as much juice in those batteries as we thought?" The striped Pokémon shook its head, staying facing its new opponent. "Alright. Hold on a minute and Infernape will give you a boost."

Up above them, Salamence was tumbling through the air towards the ground, its flight pattern messed up from the unexpected attack from Gallade. Dragonite turned in the air to bring the now helpless Pokémon into its sights. The trainer yelled out commands for his Pokémon. "Infernape, close combat, Weavile ice punch straight after, then Infernape launch Weavile into the Dragonite. Quick, now! Electivire, keep Metagross busy. Don't let it aim a shot at anyone."

The Golem had turned around and was coming again for another try at Infernape. Instead of jumping around like it had been, Infernape held its ground, getting into a deep stance, his right arm pulled back, his left hand covering the right fist. Right when it looked like Infernape was going to be run over, the monkey Pokémon stepped forward with his front foot and brought his right elbow whipping around, catching the rolling rock Pokémon dead in the center. The concussion of the attack sent a whump through the air, and brought the Pokémon to a complete stop. Not a split second after that, Weavile flitted across the field and struck the Golem with a quick succession of two ice punches, making the large Pokémon roll backwards. Infernape bent down, scooped up Weavile, and threw it with all of its strength at the Dragonite.

Just as it was about to shoot its own hyper beam at Gallade, Dragonite was caught in the jaw by the launched Weaviles ice punch. The hyper beam shot above Gallade harmlessly. The Dragonite incapacitated, Gallade oriented itself in the air so it was directly above the Metagross, while Weavile crawled around Dragonite and launched itself toward Salamence, who had landed to recover and was about to take off again.

"Infernape, thunder punch Electivire!" Satisfied that Golem wouldn't be rolling around for another go, Infernape charged at Electivire, who was having his hands full trying to hold off Metagross. The foe Pokémon saw he was coming, and tried to use Psychic on Infernape while using metal claw at Electivire. Infernape scooted out of the way of the mental blast and jumped at Electivire, pulling back his fist to strike the Pokémon in the back. Infernapes thunder punch connected with the outlet design on Electivires back at the same time Gallade came streaking down from the air, elbow blades black from Night Slash, landing on Metagross, causing the steel Pokémon to collapse, its four legs splayed outwards.

On the other side of the clearing, Weavile also hurtled through the air, blue-white streaking off of its claws, towards the grounded Salamence. The dark Pokémon landed a huge hit dead center on the back of the foe as it was about to take off, effectively grounding it for the remainder of the battle at the same time Dragonite fell from the air, landing in a cloud of snow. Streaking across the battlefield, claws dragging across the ice, Weavile focused on the last remaining opponent.

Gallade jumped off of Metagross's back as the psychic Pokémon started to levitate in the air. Electivire, charged up from Infernapes thunder punch, quickly moved around behind the enemy, bringing both fists down in a double thunder punch. Metagross flinched from the attack, but continued rising up until it could get its legs underneath it. The trainer saw Weavile coming in for a finishing blow, and started the prep for a combo. "Infernape, flip and blaze kick. Gallade, night slash. Electivire, intercept after crush claw and giga-impact. Go!" Jumping high into the air, Infernape made a full front flip, coming straight down in an ax blaze kick. The flaming kick caught Metagross right above the eyes, causing the front two legs to collapse again. Gallade hooked across the exposed underside with a night slash, lifting the now helpless steel Pokémon up onto its side. Weavile came in, left claw drawn back, and hit Metagross with crush claw, sending the foe flying. Electivire seemed to disappear from where it was and reappear in the path of the oncoming Metagross. The electric Pokémon ended the fight with a show-stopping giga-impact, stopping Metagross midflight, bringing it crashing to the ground.

With all foes defeated, the trainer turned back to the tree he had been sitting in and pulled out a length of cord from behind it. "Now," he said to the Team Rocket goons in front of him. "I'm going to tie you up and leave you by this fire you tried to put out. Are you going to come easy, or am I going to have to get my friends to make you?" Infernape cracked his knuckles, seeming to smile in anticipation.

The lieutenant stared at the man in awe. "You beat us, all of us, and you only have four Pokémon? Who are you?"

The man smiled. "My name doesn't really matter. And I actually have six. My other two just don't like the cold. So, what's it going to be?"

The lieutenant was about to make the decision for the group when the Garchomp handler returned from the snowmobiles. "Guys, I saw a yellow yeti! It ate our snowmobiles!" He saw Electivire, and jumped backwards. "That's it! That's it! Someone get it! Quick!" It was at that moment he saw the field was littered with unconscious Pokémon. "What happened here?"

"We surrender."

Trading his parka with a Team Rocket one, the trainer approached the snowmobiles. "Electivire, could you juice up one of these things for me?" Electivire did a thundershock, and the snowmobile started up. "Thanks. Everyone, return!" The trainer held out four Pokéballs, returning the Pokémon to their respective balls. Jumping on the snowmobile, the trainer made his way back to the Team Rocket base.

He drove the snowmobile up to the gate. "Someone, open up! We've got an emergency!" The gates opened up and he drove inside.

He was confronted by an important looking man. "Soldier, report!" the man demanded.

The trainer threw a salute. "Sir, we arrived close to the fire and proceeded on foot. There were four men waiting by the fire. Sir, they were Echo commandos. They've located the base. We couldn't get a radio signal through, so the lieutenant sent me back for reinforcements while everyone else tried to keep them contained."

The captain cursed. "Everyone that can drive a snowmobile, get one! If you can't drive, ride with someone! This is an emergency people!" The captain turned to the trainer. "I need you to get to Giovanni and tell him what's going on.

"Sir, I don't have clearance to get that far into the building."

The captain impatiently shoved his clearance card into the trainers' hands. "Now you do. Now run!"

The trainer saluted and ran into the building, swiping the clearance card as he did so. He entered a long corridor with various hallways leading off of them. There were signs that showed the paths to where everything was, and labels outside the rooms to show what was in them. A flood of people were running outside while the trainer ran counter to the current. Abruptly, there was an end to the people.

The trainer unzipped his parka and threw it to the ground. It was too warm inside for it. Pulling his cap out of his back pocket, he put it back on his head, bill forward. Taking one last look to make sure there was no one nearby, he reached his hands to his belt, pulling out six Pokéballs. "Alright everyone, come on out!" When the red flash cleared, six Pokémon stood facing him. He looked up at the signs, and gave orders. "Electivire, Infernape, Gallade, Scyther, and Leafeon, go down this hall and follow the signs for the containment cells. Find any cells with the names Slate, Hikari, Haruka, Waterflower, or Ketchum. Once you find them all, make your way up to the roof. Weavile, you're with me. Everyone got it?" All the Pokémon cried in the affirmative. "Alright, let's go guys. Break!" Five Pokémon ran one way, while Weavile and the trainer ran another.

It wasn't long before the trainer reached the door he was looking for: Giovanni's office. He looked at the clearance card in his hand, and then tossed it aside. "Weavile, open the door please." Weavile slashed the door to pieces, and let the trainer step across the splinters into the room. "Giovanni," the trainer said to the man behind the desk. The back of the chair was facing him, but it was squeaking slightly. There was someone there. "It's been a while."

"It certainly has been," Giovanni replied, turning the chair around. Giovanni smiled. "Old friend."

"I don't feel very friendly at the moment, Giovanni. You broke our promise. You said you'd leave my family alone if I left you alone. That was the deal, wasn't it?"

"Almost. The deal was I'd leave your family alone if your _family_ left me alone."

"Semantics, Giovanni."

"No, not in the least. You see, you've left me alone, but your son… He's a different matter entirely."

"What do you mean?"

Giovanni feigned surprise. "What, you mean you haven't been keeping tabs on your own son, Ketchum?"

"I have been. He's been making a good name for himself as a trainer. Keeps good company too."

"But he's gone a good ways towards ruining me."

The trainer scoffed at that. "You seriously want me to believe my son has almost ruined you?"

"I was just as reluctant to believe as you. But not a week ago someone brought some reports to my attention."

"And my son was the object of these reports? How many are we talking here? Four? Five tops?"

Giovanni shook his head. "He had boxes of reports. _Boxes!_ Even you don't have a full box, and you've done more harm than anyone else. Granted, most of that was in a few fell swoops, but nonetheless…"

"It doesn't matter. You broke the truce. Now, I'm going to be coming for you. This is a warning, in honor of our past. And this is the only one you get. After tonight, I'm going to bring it, and bring it hard."

"I wouldn't expect anything less. However… you may have a problem with that."

The trainer had started to leave, but stopped. "Oh? And why's that?"

"Well, there's two reasons. Firstly, as soon as you're gone, I'm going to make some phone calls. You and my prisoners are going to be grounded here indefinitely. Sure, you may be gone from the facility, but you'll be stuck here in Sinnoh. And seeing as we only have a couple bases here in Sinnoh, you won't be able to do that much damage."

"And the second thing?"

"I have Patrick and Jane working on your son."

"You're lying."

"No, I'm not. Remember, boxes… I'll see you around, Ketchum."

Giovanni turned the chair back around and the trainer left.

All nineteen people, along with the five Pokémon, were waiting on the roof, shivering, when the Trainer got there with Weavile. Delia jumped into his arms as soon as she saw him. "Oh, honey! It's so good to see you again!" She leaned back a little, cupping his face in her hand, looking at him sweetly. Then she slapped him. "Where have you been?! I haven't seen you since before Ash left!"

"I know, dear, I know. I'm sorry. But you know how it is for me. I have to go where they tell me. I haven't had a day off since I saw you last."

"Then how did you get here, huh?"

"Because you were in trouble."

"This is all very touching and all," Norman cut in, "But we're freezing here. Why are we up here anyways?"

The trainer indicated the runway on the roof. "Because we're flying out of here."

Norman looked around, than saw the hanger. "Got it. Everyone, follow me!" Norman led the way to the hanger, the trainer bringing up the rear.

Delia wasn't done talking yet though. "You and I are going to have a very long talk when we get back on the ground, sir."

The trainer sighed. "I know, dear. I know." He followed Delia into the plane and made his way to the cockpit. Norman was in the co-pilots chair, doing the start up work. "Just like riding a bike, ey Norman?"

The gym leader laughed and nodded. "Sure is. I remember doing stuff like this all the time when I was in Echo. Has it changed much?"

The trainer shook his head. "No, not really. We do the same stuff that we did when you left." He took his place in the pilot's seat. "You didn't happen to do a walk around, did you?"

Norman shook his head. "Nope. No time. I figure we only have a minute or two left until all those goons get back."

The trainer took a deep breath. "Let's just hope there's no water in the fuel. Almost ready?"

"Yup. Give me another few seconds. You prep the passengers." He started up the plane, the small jet engines starting to spin to speed.

"Will do." He reached up and took the intercom handset from its cradle. "This is your captain speaking. We are about to take off. Everyone make sure your trays are in the upright and lock position and make sure your seatbelts are buckled, as we will most definitely be having a rough take off. We will be taking off in ten…nine…eight…sev-NOWNOWNOW!!"

Norman hit the throttle forward just as the first Rocket goon poked his head out the hanger door. He saw the plane coming and dived to the side, out of the way. The small plane rocketed forward, taking off just as it reached the end of the roofs runway. The trainer took control of the stick, guiding the plane to higher altitude, checking the fuel, oil pressure, and so on at the same time. Everything seemed fine. "You know, Giovanni's not going to like me very much after this. I think this is his private plane."

Norman gave the man a look. "He liked you before?"

"Mmm, that depends on how far back you go. But in the immediate past, now, he didn't."

Norman shrugged. "So then nothing new."

"Nope." They were silent for a minute. "So, do you have any idea where we're going to land this thing?"

AN II: Oh that was soooooo much fun to write. I'm glad I got it all down before the idea decided to leave my brain. And, it's my longest chapter yet! 8000+ words! Yeah, sure, that includes the notes, but who cares? That's a lot of words! For me anyways. So, yeah. Please review! Penguin King, out~


	9. Continued Answers

Hey all! Thanks for your reviews on my fic. Now, for my first order of business, I will answer my fan mail.

Mike Prower: You'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for the giggity!

FanficFemale: I will reveal more about the past as the story progresses. Trust me, it's gonna be good. At least, I hope so. I haven't made it up yet.

KaliAnn: The real question there is, who was the cat?

h1tm0nl33: I had wanted to, but it didn't work out so well. People would have guessed it in a flash even if I hadn't said anything...

thedarkpokemaster: Thanks! I plan on it.

Lucy: Well, it's not like they're going to sit around doing nothing. They have to do something to make it a challenge.

Hedgi: May did get her, huh? Or did she…….?

Mel: Sorry I made you wait so long. I hope it was worth the wait though J

Magus Black: Oh, it will be lots of fun. They still need to rescue all those Pokémon, after all.

ShadowMario45: The mysterious father of Ash is indeed a mystery.

Now, onto the story!

----------

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. They are a property of Nintendo/Gamefreak/. However, I do claim creative ownership of all characters outside the canon, and this plotline is mine. Also, pancakes. That is all.

------------

"So," Norman started. "How's it been for you Ketchum?" The plane was on Auto pilot heading south towards warmer weather. It was fortunate that the plane had been fully fueled when the former Echo agent had commandeered it from the leader of Team Rocket. With any luck, it would take them to Eterna City, where they could regroup and plan. Maybe even refuel. It _was_ a nice plane.

He shrugged. "It's been long. I was in the middle of an investigation when I got word of the kidnappings.

"Yeah? What were you investigating?"

"There had been some interesting activity going on in Michina Town. Echo sent me to investigate some claims, try to find some explanations. Then I got a call from Professor Oak. I was pretty surprised when he called, actually. I keep forgetting that he has all those high up connections. He told me that Delia had gone missing. I called some friends of mine still working Team Rocket, and they pulled up some chatter between known operatives. The rest is history. I called in a favor, got dropped outside the base, and proceeded to rescue your sorry butts." He smiled over at Norman. "What about you? I haven't heard anything from you since you retired."

Norman chuckled. "I try to keep my past separate from my present activities. I'm a gym leader now. I'm too old to be a military agent."

"Nonsense! You can't be more than a few years older than me."

"Maybe that means you should retire, you crazy fool!"

The two laughed at the inside joke.

"Seriously, though. What's been happening?"

Norman sighed and looked out the front window, watching the clouds go by as they flew, and the sun traveling across the sky. "Nothing, really, until now. It's been very peaceful. I've settled down. I married Caroline as soon as the papers were finalized, and opened up my gym. It's a Normal specialty."

"That's Norman for you," Ketchum chimed in. "Normal Norman. You look so harmless, then you bring out that Vigeroth and all hell breaks loose."

"Please, you're one to talk. Opening with that Electivire, then hit it with a Thunder Punch first chance you get. Then, next thing you know, you have a monster nothing can catch! Well, short of your Weavile anyways."

"You think she's fast now, wait till you see her boosted up on Agility."

"That speed demon knows Agility? What, do you stack X Speed on it too?"

Ketchum didn't say anything, and then smiled. "That's an excellent idea!"

"Oh God, what have I done?"

Ketchum laughed at his friends face. "So, you were saying?"

"Yeah, yeah. I opened up my gym, and had two kids. It's been quiet ever since."

"Until now, that is."

"Yeah, until now. I wonder what prompted this, anyways."

"Actually, I had a chat with Giovanni before I met up with you guys."

Norman looked at him in surprise. "Really? What did he say?"

"He said that it was all because of my son."

"Ash? What did he do?"

"You know, I'm not entirely sure. Something about messing up some plan or another of Team Rockets. I'll see if Echo has him earmarked on anything in particular."

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea. Hell of a trainer he is, by the way. He managed to get my badge."

"Really? You must be going soft in your old age, Norman."

"No, it's not that. I just don't think it's fair to use my full team against league trainers."

Ketchum rolled his eyes. "If you say so."

"Not only that, though, but he got my daughter to actually appreciate Pokémon. They traveled together for a while, you know. "

He nodded his head. "Yeah, when he was traveling through Hoenn. She's a coordinator, right?"

"Doing pretty well, too. I hope she's okay."

"Well, she wasn't kidnapped. That must mean something."

"All that means is that Giovanni didn't want her kidnapped yet. I wonder why, though."

"She's involved in this somehow. I've kept some tabs on my son over the years. Not a lot, just enough to know who he's with, what he's doing. Making sure he's okay and all."

"And?"

"And the people closest to him, aren't here. Your daughter, Brock Slate, Misty Waterflower, and Dawn Hikari."

Norman pondered for a minute. "Two of those names sound familiar."

"Brock and Misty were both Gym Leaders in Kanto. Brock's been traveling with Ash since he left, and Misty until he went to Hoenn."

"Then who's Dawn?"

Ketchum smiled. "She's a trainer he picked up in Sinnoh. Her mom is in the back here."

"Really? That's a shame."

"Why?"

"May really had a thing for him. But to hear you tell it, your son is never long without some kind of female companionship."

He shrugged. "What can I say? He's a Ketchum."

Norman shook his head and looked back out the windows.

--------------

In the plane behind the two pilots, there was lots of commotion. The Slates were reunited, all eleven of them. _That's a huge family,_ Delia thought to herself. _Holidays must be a nightmare_.

She turned her attention to the Waterflower sisters, who were also crying and carrying on, distraught over their recent captivity. Caroline was comforting the only child not a Slate, who Delia assumed was her son. That left the only other woman on the plane. She seemed so alone, unsure of what was going on, and very afraid. Delia walked over and sat down next to her, holding out a hand in greeting. "Hello. I'm Delia Ketchum."

The other woman looked at the offered hand for a moment before shaking it. "Nice to meet you. I'm Johanna Hikari. You wouldn't by chance be related to Ash Ketchum, of Pallet Town, would you?"

Delia smiled. "Actually, he's my son. Do you know him?"

Johanna nodded. "My daughter, Dawn, is traveling with him, actually."

"Oh! So _you're_ Dawn's mom! I've heard such great things about your daughter from Ash. She seems like a really nice girl."

Johanna smiled at that, seeming to relax a little. "Yes, she is. I've heard nothing but praises about Ash, too. It seems like he's stolen her heart, the way she talks about him."

Delia sighed. "Oh, that Ash. He never does seem to realize the effect he has on some girls."

The two mothers laughed like old friends. When the laughter subsided, however, Johanna's mood took a downturn. "I'm really afraid for her. I didn't see her anywhere. You don't think that-"

Delia shook her head. "I'm sure she's fine. If she's with Ash, he won't let anything bad happen to her."

"I hope so." She was quiet for a little bit. "I'm really scared though," she said, her voice choking up at the end. "What's going on?" she asked, bursting into tears. "Who are these people? Why did they kidnap me? Where are my Pokémon? Where's Dawn? I'm just so confused, and I don't know what's happening, and, and…I just don't know!"

Delia wrapped her arms around the distraught Johanna. "There there, it's going to be okay. My husband is going to make it all better, just watch. And hey! I know where Dawn is."

"You do?" Johanna asked through her tears. "Where?"

"If my guess is right, she's in Cerulean City, in Kanto."

"Kanto?" Johanna sniffed. "What's she doing there?"

"That's where my son is. He asked me to buy him three plane tickets from Hearthome to Celadon a few days ago. From there, he's probably planning on going to Cerulean. I think there's a good chance that Dawn is there in Cerulean with him."

Johanna nodded, wiping away her tears. "Probably. But still, I'm worried."

"I know just what you mean," Delia said, trying to comfort her."

"So do I," said another voice. Delia looked up to see Caroline Haruka.

"Caroline! It's so good to see you again. Here, sit down." Delia patted the seat on the other side of her, urging her to sit down. "Johanna, this is an old friend of mine, Caroline. Our husbands used to work together. Caroline, this is Johanna."

"Nice to meet you Johanna," Caroline said, smiling.

"Same," Johanna said.

"What were you saying earlier, Caroline?" Delia asked.

"I have a daughter, too, and I don't know where she is. Last I knew, she was in Slateport getting ready for a contest. Now, I don't know. I don't even know where we are."

Johanna nodded, understanding. "What about you?" she asked Delia. "Aren't you scared for Ash?"

Delia sighed. "Of course I'm scared. But I also know that being scared isn't going to help much. I'm sure that Ash is fine, wherever he might be. He has good friends to keep him safe, and his Pokémon to help him every step of the way."

Caroline nodded in agreement. Then a look of surprise flashed across her face. "Ash _Ketchum!_ Why didn't I see that before? My daughter traveled around Hoenn with Ash. Isn't it a small world?"

Delia nodded smiling, and then looked at the other occupants of the plane. Caroline's son was playing with the other children, and the Waterflower sisters had calmed down. Mr. and Mrs. Slate were asleep in each other's arms, grateful to be back together. Her smile turned into a frown, remembering her conversation with Giovanni. "Yes, and getting smaller."

"What do you mean?"

Delia pursed her lips. "Unfortunately, this all has to do with Ash."

"What has to do with Ash?" The three sisters had seen the group of women chatting, and decided they wanted to be a part of it. "He's not in trouble, is he?" Violet asked. "We like him. He's good for Misty," Daisy agreed

Delia headed that off before Caroline or Johanna could ask about Misty. A war between daughters was one thing. A war between mothers (and sisters) was an entirely different monster. "Actually, he's probably in a lot of trouble. He's made some pretty powerful people very mad, and they're out for revenge."

The sisters looked at each other nervously. "I hope it isn't too bad," Lily said. "He was coming to visit Misty at the gym. You don't think they'll try anything there, do you?"

"Who is Misty?" Johanna asked, curiously.

"Oh, she's our sister, and Ash's girlfriend," Violet said offhandedly. "He just doesn't know it yet."

Johanna and Caroline laughed. "No, _my_ daughter is Ash's girlfriend," the two said in synchrony. The two women then glared at each other.

"Ladies, not now," Delia said, stopping the pending feud. "We have bigger problems at the moment."

Caroline sighed. "You're right. We'll discuss your son and his amorous activities later."

It was then that Delia heard her husband's voice over the intercom. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are beginning our descent. Everyone needs to be in a seat and buckled in firmly. It's going to be a rough landing."

Delia looked at her new companions. "You heard the captain. Sit down and buckle up." They all went to their respective seats and sat down, their seatbelts clicking as they were strapped on. Delia stayed seated next to Johanna. "Everything will be okay, you have no need to worry," she reassured the woman as she buckled her belt.

"I hope so," Johanna responded, opening up the window to watch the descent. "Because everything is turning crazy in my life."

Delia patted her leg, keeping the smile on her face. "Trust me. It will be."

-----------

Patrick and Jane were the best agents Giovanni had. They were the best for two reasons. One, they always had a back-up plan, an exit strategy. If one thing failed, they went onto their next option. Then the next. Then the next. The second reason they were the best was because they were very, very patient. Nothing phased them, and they were always willing to wait a person out. Because of those two strengths, Patrick and Jane had yet to fail an objective.

Patrick looked at his watch, and then radioed his partner. "Jane, are you ready?"

Jane was outside the gym, underneath a window. She pulled out a pokeball and released Alakazam. "Yeah, I'm ready," she radioed back..

Patrick was back at their headquarters, looking at several computer monitors. The extraction teams had planted bugs throughout the gym when they had kidnapped the Waterflower sisters, and he was looking at the surveilance footage being recorded now. "Everyone's asleep."

"Roger," Jane responded. She nodded to Alakazam. The Pokemon closed his eyes, and began to glow slightly. The window slid open slowly, barely making a sound. A few moments later, something came out the window. Jane reached out and grabbed it as the window closed. "Got it. Preparing to plant it." Jane and Alakazam stealthily moved around the gym to another window. Again, Alakazam opened the window. Jane tossed the object into the air. She watched as it stopped as it was about to fall, and glide slowly into the room. Before to long, the window closed.

"Objective complete. Returning to base. Over."

"Roger. Over and out."

-----------------

Giovanni was upset. He had been so sure that _he_ wouldn't be able to penetrate this base. But, that had proved to be wrong. Again.

Pulling out a bottle of aspirin, he stuck two in his mouth and took a swallow of water. Nothing to give you a headache like an old enemy showing up where he isn't supposed to be. He let out a sigh and picked up the phone in his battered office._ Next time I get a reinforced steel door, _he thought as he dialed some numbers on his phone. Well, hopefully there wouldn't be a next time.

A mechanical voice came on the phone. "Please say your name."

"Giovanni."

"Voice recognized. Transfering."

The phone rang twice before it was picked up. "This is Officer Jenny, how can I help you sir?"

"We have a Class S security threat who just left the Snowpoint base. We need them confined. They took my plane, so use the tracking on it. Make sure that they don't leave the country under any circumstances. Use whatever force you deem necessary."

"Understood, sir," she said and then hung up.

Giovanni placed the phone on the hanger and then picked it up again, dialing another phone number. Another mechanical voice answered. "Please enter your twelve character phrase."

"Nine seven queue es four be kay six five gee tee aye."

"Recognized. Transfering."

Again, the phone rang a couple times before it was answered.

"Doctor Bacchus," an older gentleman said.

"Where do you have the Delta One Nine shipment?" Giovanni asked him.

"Currently they're here in Goldenrod, going through their seperation stages. We haven't begun any experimenting with them yet."

"Split them up as much as possible. Scatter them throughout the Johto bases, and be on alert for the slightest of security breaches. If anyone breaks protocol, give them the most severe punishment option. We have a Class S threat who may be coming for them. "

"You can count on me, sir."

"I'd better be able to." Giovanni hung up the phone again, and picked it up to make one more phone call. Again, a mechanical voice answered.

"Activation phrase."

"East of the moon, west of the sun."

"Top clearance granted. Connecting." The phone rang a few times before a woman answered the phone.

"This is Jane."

"Jane, how is progress coming?"

"Just fine sir. We are right on schedule."

"Good. This had better work. We have a Class S threat on the move."

"Class S? But isn't that... Oh, crap."

"Yes. You can't afford to fall behind. Stay on schedule. I'll keep him over here for as long as I can."

"Yes, sir."

Giovanni hung up and leaned back in his chair again. Why couldn't anyone let him take over the world in peace?

-------------

_Why can't they just let us be in peace? _Misty asked herself for the hundredth time. Everything seemed to conspire against her the last few days, and she didn't think it was fair at all. First, there had been the movie thing. May had fallen asleep on the couch, curled in a ball with her Glaceon, resting her head on Ash's lap - his lap! And every time Ash tried to move, she would 'conveniently' reach out and grab his leg. If she was really asleep, than Misty was a goldeen.

Then the next day, Misty had wanted to make a nice dinner. But then Dawn wanted to help. Misty had reluctantly agreed, and set her to making the Caesar salad. And somehow, in some way, Dawn had managed to set the dang thing _on fire!_ She'd heard the saying before, that such-and-such is such a bad cook they could burn a salad, but she had never actually seen it before. And Dawn over reacted and had Piplup whirlpool the kitchen. So not only was there no salad, there was no anything! Her dinner was ruined, and she ordered pizza at Dawns suggestion. Which, it turned out, Ash loved. Ughhh!

And every single time that Misty thought she might be alone with Ash, some pokemon or another had to be in there and demand attention, or do things that were embarrassing, or sabotage her efforts. It was the most infuriating thing she'd ever encountered. Even more so than her sisters. Enough was enough! She didn't deserve this. She deserved some uninterrupted time with Ash. And she would get it, through hell or high water... or rival.

-----------

AN II: Yes, it is short. Yes, it isn't that great. But, I recently find myself with free time and hope to update more frequently. My muse isn't being friendly with me at the moment, so I apologize for the uninspired work. I only hope that I come up with some good writing soon. Penguin King, out~


	10. Battles For All, Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. Or Lost in Space. Or The Twilight Zone. Never have, never will. I do claim creative ownership of any and all characters outside the canon of the show and video games and the plot of the proceeding fanfic. Now, since we got all of that legal ownership stuff out of the way, let's move on to the next chapter of The Choices They Have Made. You know, that kind of sounds like a soap opera title. Crap. Oh well, no changing it now.

-----------------

**WARNING! WARNING! DANGER WILL ROBINSON! THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER WILL BE TOLD IN A DIFFERENT STYLE. I AM EXPLORING THE WAYS OF STORY TELLING IN ACCORDANCE WITH MY MUSE'S WISHES. FEEDBACK ON THIS STYLE WILL BE APPRECIATED. ALSO, SUGGESTIONS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME. BUT I AM NOT ACCEPTING OC'S. I DON'T CARE HOW COOL THEY ARE, THEY WON'T APPEAR. EVER.**

**----------------- **

It was twilight in Cerulean City. All was quiet inside the water gym. For once, there was no petty squabbling or competing. Today had been a day of rest and relaxation, each to their own selves. A temporary ceasefire in the war for Ash Ketchum, if you will. Maybe because they were tired and needed time to rest and recuperate. Possibly because some were cooking up plans, others letting them mature, and one was being a grand puppet master. It could have been that they had all come to an agreement, that the war had ended and the victor stood in the victory circle. Alright, it wasn't that. That's just crazy talk. But it could happen. Maybe. Possibly. Eventually. Under certain conditions... Or never. The biggest factor, though, was probably that Brock had kidnapped Ash early in the morning and took Ash somewhere without telling anyone else. The events that unfold take all take place in the same day, but are told from varied perspectives. What you are about to read may shock and disturb you. You are entering... The Twilight Zone......(cue creepy music)

**----------------- **

**DAWN **

**----------------- **

Dawn woke up to the new day with the sun peeking it's way through the curtains of her room. The golden ribbons of light fell upon her face, urging her to seize the day, so full of wonders, possibilities, and promises. She opened her big blue eyes and blinked at the brightness a few times before sitting up, taking a deep breath, and stretching out her arms. She had a feeling that today was going to be a good day. Looking at her partner, Piplup, she smiled. That little penguin looked so innocent when it was asleep. She wanted to just pick her (Yes, I know it is actually a guy, but the fic was started with it as a girl, and a girl it will remain. You picky people out there will survive this, I'm sure) up and squeeze _her_, but Dawn decided against it.

The young coordinator swung her legs over the edge of the comfortable bed and stretched her legs out also before standing up. Dawn looked around the room as she wandered to her very own bathroom. It was almost like staying in a hotel room. The bed had several pillows and a down comforter that covered the entire bed. The floors were hardwood instead of carpet, but the coolness on her feet as she walked on it felt absolutely divine. There was a television on top of a dresser that received basic cable, but Dawn didn't use it very much. At all, really. In one corner there was a chair and a table with three chess boards set on it in a strange way. There was even a small walk-in closet for her use, but Dawn didn't bring all that many clothes with her, so it remained unused. A shame really. It was a nice closet.

Dawn walked into the bathroom, still slightly drowsy. About an hour later, she emerged from the bathroom like a Beautifly from a Silcoon (I honestly don't know what happens in there. I can only guess and be ridiculed for those guesses. So I will leave it to your imagination. Honestly, I hope no one expected me to do a perspective while she was in the shower or something. She's eleven for crying out loud! That would be weird), almost completely re-energized. There was just one more thing to do before she left the relative safety of her room and went into the savage, untamed lands around her. Walking up to the table with the chess boards, she examined the pieces.

The boards were set up strangely. They were set up so that the front edges were facing the center of the table, corners touching each other to form an empty triangle in the center. Each board was home to different colored pieces, as made evident from the squares. Instead of black squares, one board had blue, another red, and the last brown. It was three-way chess. The movement and capture rules were the same as in regular chess, but the board interaction made it tricky. Before any piece could move to another board, it had to be on or past the E row, or the middle row furthest from the player. Once there, you had two options. You could move sideways off of your board and onto the adjacent board as if the two were side by side, or you could continue moving forward. If you crossed the border at the top, you could choose which board you went to, but you had to move into the place on that board as if the two were placed directly opposite each other (It's easier to explain if you look at it. I'll see what I can do about a picture if I get too many complaints).

After examining the pieces for a moment, she went through moving them. She moved the red pieces first, than the brown, and then the blue. She went through three turns per player, and then stopped. It wasn't looking so good for brown. Most of the pieces sat in the center triangle, captured by either blue or red. Unless something spectacular happened, it would be checkmate in the next two or three days. Then it would be down to red and blue.

Satisfied with the board, Dawn went over to the night stand and picked up her belt. Strapping it around her waist, the weight of her Pokeballs dragging it down one side of her hip, she went and woke up her partner. "Time to get up, Piplup," she cooed softly as she picked up the downy ball of blue feathers. "It's a brand new day, and all sorts of things are waiting for us."

The penguin yawned and rubbed at an eye with a wing. "Plup?" she asked, not entirely awake yet.

"Yes, really, sleepy head. Now come on! Let's go!"

Piplup stretched her wings, shook her head really fast, and nodded. "Piplup!"

"Now That's the spirit!" Dawn cheered. "Let's go see what we can find for breakfast, shall we?"

Piplup jumped down from Dawn's arms and started running for the door, waiting impatiently for the trainer to open the door. Sometimes, it was not fun being short.

Dawn laughed as the little Pokemon rocketed down the hallway as soon as the door was opened, obviously hungry and ready for Brock's special Pokemon food. Whatever Brock did with that food, the Pokemon sure loved it. She really would have to get the recipe from him one day, before they parted ways. Hopefully that wasn't going to be for a very,_very _long time, but it was better to be safe than sorry. As she walked down the hallway, Dawn began releasing her other Pokemon. First came Buneary, who hopped after Piplup as fast as she could, ready for breakfast. Then came little Pachirisu, who ran circles around Dawn before following the other two into the kitchen. Cyndaquil came out next, and stayed close to Dawn, still uncertain of everything and wanting to feel safe with it's trainer. Dawn considered letting Mamoswine out, but finally decided against it for now. The big fellow would have to wait till everyone else had eaten their fill before getting breakfast. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any left for the other Pokemon.

Looking out the glass door from the breakfast area to the fenced in yard, Dawn watched as her Pokemon went to their respective places, food waiting for them, and began eating. Cyndaquil went out and joined them, but kept glancing at Dawn every couple of seconds, as if to make sure she was still there. Dawn waved at the little fire Pokemon, reassuring it that she was going to stay there for a while. Content, Cyndaquil went back to eating and carrying on with her other Pokemon.

"That's a really sweet Pokemon you got there," a voice remarked from the kitchen, startling Dawn. She turned on her chair to look at Misty, her hair in a side pony and sipping on a glass of water. She had a plate of bacon and eggs and toast in front of her on the counter. It looked amazingly delicious, as only Brock could make food. Misty nodded her head towards the oven. "You've got a plate in there, and so does May. Looks like Brock and Ash got a head start on all of us." She held up a note, cleared her throat, and started reading in a deep voice, trying to imitate Brock. "Dear Girls, I've taken Ash out for the day. He needs some fresh air and a good battle, so I'm taking him out to the training grounds. Don't expect us back till late tonight. I've made you all breakfast, but you're on your own for lunch and dinner. Try not to kill each other while we're gone. Brock."

Dawn chuckled as she stood up, walking towards the oven. "That was actually a pretty good imitation of Brock. Have you practiced that much?"

Misty shrugged. "On and off. It's been a while since I got a chance to use it."

Pulling on an oven mitt, Dawn opened the door and reached in, grabbing a plate of food. It was nice and warm, the butter melted evenly through the toast. Heavenly. "Does this taste anywhere near as good as it looks?" she asked Misty.

"Even better," Misty said, taking a mouthful of eggs. "This is Brock we're talking about."

Dawn laughed again. "True." Misty was in a strangely good mood today. Dawn was curious about it, but didn't want to reveal her curiosity. Many a Delcaty had been the victim of curiosity, and Dawn was not eager to join their ranks. Sitting at the breakfast table, she lay down a few strips of bacon onto a square of toast, and than topped it off with some eggs. Picking up her half sandwich, she took a bite and let out a moan of delight. "Oh my God. This is amazing."

"What's amazing?" May came into the room with Misty and Dawn, yawning and stretching. Her hair was a disheveled, her bandanna absent, and was still wearing her pajamas. Obviously, May wasn't a morning person.

"Breakfast," Misty informed her. "You have a plate in the oven if you're hungry."

May's stomach growled in response. "Yeah, I'm a little hungry." She pulled out her pokeballs from her pockets and walked out the door to where Dawn's pokemon were eating. "Come out guys," she said with less than her normal vigor as she released the pokemon. Blaziken sat down near Cyndaquil, trying to ease the fire pokemon's nerves, and Glaceon ate near Piplup. Wartortle, Venusaur, Beautifly and Skitty all mingled with everyone else, and they all seemed to be friendly. It was always nice when pokemon got along.

Dawn and Misty ate in silence while May retrieved her own plate of food and sat down opposite Dawn. Misty joined them at the small, round table. It took a moment, but finally May realized something.

"Hey, where's Ash?"

"Training with Brock," Misty replied. "Well, maybe not with him. But he's with Brock at one of the training grounds. Probably looking for a trainer to sharpen his skills on."

The three women finished eating in silence. It was unnerving, in Dawn's opinion. They were all being so civil, now that Ash wasn't around. Finally, finishing last, May sat down her fork.

It looked like Misty had been waiting for this. "So," she began. "Ladies. I have a proposition for you, if you'd be so kind as to listen."

Dawn knew that there was something going on. "Alright, I'll listen."

"Me too," May chimed. Now that she had a full stomach, May looked more like her usual self, that competitive gleam back in her eye.

"Thank you," Misty said with a smile. "I propose that today, we call a truce. A temporary ceasefire, if you will, to rest and recuperate. I know that the two of you didn't exactly have a restful flight over here, and I didn't make things easy either." She had the grace to look a little embarrassed. "But, you are my guests. So today, we stay out of each others way, and we go back to normal tomorrow. What do you say?"

They said nothing for a long moment. Finally, Dawn broke the silence. "What's the catch?"

"Well, it's not really a catch. Just a request."

"Than what's the request?" May asked.

"I need you both to help me with something. And it's something you'll want to help me with, too. There's this guy who I'm pretty sure is behind most of this. I need you to come with me when we... inquire what is going on."

"Why can't you go by yourself?" Dawn wanted to get at the guy who might be responsible, but didn't want to be too eager. "You're a gym leader, after all."

"Well, he has friends. Fellow fanatics is a better term. There are a lot of them, and they tend towards electric types, and I'm not to good with those."

"I see. So basically, you're asking us to help you beat up the guy who made Ash into a living zombie."

"Yeah."

Again, silence. "Well, I like that idea," May said, smiling. "I could use a night of adventure, just like the good old days."

Misty looked at Dawn, hopeful. "Eh, why not?" she replied, smiling. "I want to meet this guy, and let him know just how far in over his head he is."

The red haired gym leader clapped her hands once in excitement. "Great. Him and the fan club usually come in the late evening. Hopefully Ash will still be out. Can you girls all come back here before then?" They both nodded, showing great enthusiasm. "Awesome."

"We'll make him feel sorry he thought to get rid of Ash," May growled dangerously.

"Very sorry," Dawn agreed.

"Great," Misty said, smiling. She stood at attention and did a salute. "Troops, dismissed." She brought her hand back down to her side and laughed. Dawn and May laughed with her. The creepy echo of the three women laughing wandered through the streets of Cerulean, sending chills down the spines of anyone who heard it. Tonight was the start of a war.

Finding her morning free, however, Dawn tried to decide what to do with her day. She could go try and find Ash, but that might have some negative consequences down the line. She could go find a phone and call her mom, tell her what was going on, and why Dawn was in Cerulean. But, there would be way to many questions that she didn't really want to answer. That left her with finding a book store and finding something good to read.

Taking out her Pokeballs, Dawn called out to her Pokemon. "Hey guys, did you get enough to eat?" There were cries in the affirmative all around. "Then return!" Red beams of light shot out of the Pokeballs at her Pokemon, returning them to their small homes. All, with the exception of Piplup. "Ready Piplup?"

"Pip!" the penguin said, waddling up to Dawn.

She bent down and put the blue bird on her head. "Then let's go."

**-----------------**

It was really quite lucky that there was a book store just two blocks from the gym. Not one of those small book stores with only a couple rows of shelves, but a two story book store, with an escalator and everything. A little too big, maybe. She had no idea where to start looking for books. Out of the corner of her eye, Dawn spied a man in an apron, with the logo of the bookstore embroidered onto the apron. He was putting a large armful of books onto one of the shelves, his name tag just visible above the book pile. "Excuse me, Patrick? Do you think you could help me real quick?"

The man turned to her. "Absolutely I can. What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for the fantasy section. Do you think you could point it out for me?"

"I'll do you one better," he said, walking towards a cart that she hadn't seen before, and placing the pile onto it. "I'll take you there myself."

"No, really," Dawn protested. "I can get there, I just don't know where it is."

"Nonsense," Patrick urged. "That's why I'm here, to help customers like yourself. Follow me." He started walking towards the escalator.

Resigned, Dawn followed him in silence. The two went up the escalator, went down a few aisles, and turned down one.

"Fantasy starts down at the other end of this row, and goes down these next three. Was there anything in particular you were looking for?"

Dawn shook her head, making Piplup wobble a little. "No, I'm just going to browse. It's alphabetical by author, right?"

"That's right," he said. "Let me know if you need anything." He started to turn away, but then turned back. "You know, you have a couple feathers in your hair there," he said, pointing.

"Really?" Dawn combed her fingers through her hair a couple times. "Did I get them?"

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Mind if I...?"

"No, go ahead." How embarrassing, having feathers in her hair.

He walked to the side and pulled at her hair up near her yellow hair thing. "There, got 'em. Have a good day." Patrick walked down the aisle with a wave and went back down the escalator to his pile of books that he had to put away.

Dawn turned to the shelves of books before her. "Now, where to start..."

**-----------------**

**MAY**

**-----------------**

"One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one, two, jump, duck, jump, jump, reverse, four, three, three, two, flurry!" The sound of fists and feet on the target pad was a familiar noise to May, and a comforting one too. It had been far too long since she last went to a gym for a real good workout. If she kept up her laziness, she would loose her edge and get rusty. May did not want that.

May had changed into her sparring clothes, some loose fitting, slightly baggy sweat pants and a gray tank top. She had her hair tied up with her green bandanna, and was wearing a pair of sparring gloves. She followed her warm-up and stretching routine without a hitch, not having lost any of her flexibility yet. She found an open punching bag and started punching it to her own cadence. "Jab, punch, hook, punch. Jab, punch, hook, punch. Jab, punch, hook, punch, reverse!" May pivoted on her front foot and brought her back leg whipping around in a reverse hook kick, her heel catching the punching bag squarely at chest height.

Now May started bouncing on the balls of her bare feet, moving around the bag. She would let off a quick flurry of punches, and then back off. Punches, and back off. Every so often she would let off a kick or two at the bag, sending it flying backwards against it's hanging chain, and than catch it with a reverse elbow as it came back towards her. She did this, switching up her attacks, for another ten minutes before taking a break from the bag and finding her water bottle.

"You've got some nice moves," a voice said behind her with approval. "Been fighting long?"

May turned around, bringing her bottle down from her mouth. The person who had spoken was an older gentleman with salt and pepper hair, some wrinkles around his eyes, but still very fit. He was probably in his mid fifties if May was any judge of age.

She shrugged in response to his question. "Not formally. My dad taught me all of that, and he's been teaching me since I was five. But I've never actually fought anyone before." She took another draw from her water bottle, wondering who this man was. "Why?" she asked when she put it down again. "Are you looking for a sparring partner?"

The man laughed. "Goodness, no. You'd probably wipe the floor with these old bones." He laughed again. "But, I do know someone who you could spar against. My pupil, Jacky, needs a good one on one. My joints aren't what they used to be, and I've slowed down in my old age, but a young girl like yourself might do good against her. What do you say?"

May shrugged her shoulders again. "Why not? It might do me some good to have an actual match against someone. Where is she?"

The man jerked his thumb towards a girl about May's age at another punching bag, hitting it with alternating elbows, punches, and kicks. She was shorter than May, and not quite as strong, but she was a good deal faster, and very agile on her feet. May analyzed her opponent as she danced around the punching bag, kissing it with her knuckles. It was one thing to gauge strength by watching them at a punching bag, however, but another thing entirely to gauge strength when standing across from them in the ring. She could tell right now that it would not be an easy win.

"Jacky!" the older man called. "Get over here!"

The girl stopped midway through a punch and turned a look at May and the man. "Coming," she said, sounding exasperated. She finished her punch and jogged over to them. "What's up Bill?"

"Jacky, this is May. May, Jacky."

Jacky held out her hand towards May. "Nice to meet you May. How are you?"

May shook her hand. "I'm alright. Boy troubles, that's all."

Jacky chuckled. "I hear you. But it seems like all troubles come from boy troubles, doesn't it?"

May nodded, smiling. "I'll give that to you, it seems like that most of the time." May liked Jacky. Something about her seemed to resonate with May in a familiar way.

"May here," Bill said, butting into the two's budding conversation, "is going to be your sparring partner for today, instead of me. Sound good to you?"

"I don't know Bill," Jacky responded, looking at May, and then at Bill. "Are you sure about this? She's not..."

"No, she isn't. But she knows the style, and she's pretty good with it too."

"No offense, Bill, but I saw her hit that bag too. How do you know she knows?"

"Come on, Jacky, you should know by now to trust these old bones. I can feel it, see it in her movements and her strikes. She knows more than can be let on by hitting a bag. Give her a minute in the ring, and you'll see it yourself."

May listened to the exchange, but was confused about what they were saying. "Umm, excuse me, but I'm standing right here. What are you talking about?"

Bill gave Jacky a look, and she sighed in resignation. "Fine," Jacky said, hanging her head low. "But don't blame me if I hurt her."

"I can take care of myself, thank you," May said indignantly.

"I'm sure you can," Jacky said patronizingly.

"None of that now," Bill said. "Now, let's get you two girls into the ring." He ushered the two girls into an empty ring and took his place by the bell. "Face each other," he instructed. The two girls stood at the lines painted in the middle of the ring, facing each other. "Bow." The girls bowed. "Fighting stances." May stepped back with her left leg, bending it slightly and pointing her toes out. Her right foot was perpendicular to her left, toes facing Jacky, bending her right knee even deeper than the left. She put her left arm across her chest with her hand up near her chin. Her right arm crossed her stomach, her hand near her hip. Jacky took up a similar stance. The exception was that Jacky's left foot was in front, instead of her right. Her right hand crossed her chest, hand up by her chin, and her left arm hung loose straight down. Bill rang the bell. "Fight!"

The two stood facing each other for a bare moment before they started circling each other, one foot crossing the other, keeping the distance between them constant. They circled like cats squaring off for a turf war, and to the victor goes all the spoils.

Quick as a thought, Jacky lashed out with her left arm, swinging a backhand at May's head as she lunged forward.

May skipped backwards to avoid the blow and shot out her right leg in a side kick aimed at Jacky's leading hip.

Bringing down her right hand, Jacky swung the kicking foot wide, making May twist unsteadily on her left foot, exposing her back. _Too easy,_ Jacky thought, as she went in for the choke. She moved in fast, bringing her left hand across May's throat, the crook of her elbow at May's windpipe. Bringing up her right hand, she tightened the hold even more on May's throat, waiting for the tap out. But, it didn't come. And something felt odd about the hold. Too late, Jacky realized that May had her chin down.

Before Jacky could let go of May, May twisted her hips around, and snaked her right foot behind Jacky's ankles. Turning at the waist, May brought the both of them crashing down to the ground. May landed on top, and ground her right elbow into Jacky's gut.

Jacky released May with a grunt, stunned by both the counter and the elbow. May scurried around and wrapped herself around Jacky's right arm in an arm bar. She started lifting her hips, applying pressure right at Jacky's elbow.

Now, Jacky knew she was in trouble. Her ground game was not very good. She did know how to get out of an arm bar though. Jacky twisted around on the floor, freeing her pinned left shoulder, and moving May's legs off of her chest. It allowed her to bend her right arm, keeping May from breaking it, but she was still in a very weak position to fight from. May suddenly let go of the arm, rolling backwards and standing up, resuming her fighting stance.

This time, Jacky was more cautious. She'd go in for a quick combo, and then back off. May would respond in kind, blocking the oncoming attacks and responding with attacks of her own, before backing off. They were testing each other. Their first confrontation had been born out of hubris, too overconfident. Now, they were sounding each other out. May was about to go on the offensive, having found that the only real hole in Jacky's defense was her back leg, when Bill rang the bell (Sorry, I'm not really very good with writing real fight scenes).

"Time!" he proclaimed, tossing each of them a towel. "That was a good sounding bought. Maybe next time you can have a real match." He chuckled at them as they both glared at him. "Oh, come on. You both did great." May and Jacky looked at each other and rolled their eyes at Bill. "Geez, the elderly get no respect these days." He shook his head and walked away, leaving the two girls to their own devices.

"I got to say, I was impressed," Jacky told May. "I didn't think you would be that good. Who taught you all of that?"

"My dad," May told her. "It was kind of what we did to bond. When I was little, I didn't really like Pokemon all that much, and he's a Gym leader. So, since we couldn't bond over Pokemon, we found something else."

"Well, your Dad must be some fighter to teach you that. What's his name?"

"Norman. Norman Haruka."

"Wait wait wait," Jacky stuttered. "Your dad is THE Norman Haruka? He's an Echo legend! Oh my God, I just fought Norman's daughter to a stand still. Everyone is going to be so jealous. Are you on your Voyage?"

"Voyage?" May asked. "Echo? What are you talking about?"

Jacky looked surprised. "Wait. So you aren't going to..." Jacky's eyes went really wide. "Oooooh."

"What's Echo?"

"Echo? Oh. It's a.....an acronym. E.C.H.O. Stands for the, uh, Elite City Health Organization. He helped out a lot. Yeah. Listen, I have to go. Are you going to be around for a while?"

"Uh, yeah." May thought Jacky was acting weird. "I'm kind of friends with the Gym Leader here, so I'm staying there with her and some other...friends."

"Okay, cool, I'll see if I can drop by sometime. "Alright so I got to go see you around bye!" Jacky jumped out of the ring and took off after Bill.

"Alright than," May said to herself as she went to the showers. "That was really weird." Maybe Jacky would drop by the gym some time and they could have another sparring match. Maybe she could talk Jacky into taking a fall when Ash was watching. Or would it be better for her to take the fall? Yeah, definitely the latter. Then May could train with Ash for a while, and then challenge Jacky to a rematch and win. May smiled to herself. Yeah, that was definitely the way to go. It would have to be after her and Dawn's plan though. So many windows opened after the plan went through. May let her thoughts wander as she stepped into the locker room. The plan was going to be amazing. And the fight tonight...she was reeeealllly looking forward to the fight tonight.

**-----------------**

**ASH & BROCK**

**-----------------**

Ash yawned as he and Brock made their way to the Pokecenter. Brock had woken him up at the crack of dawn with the promise of a McDonalds breakfast. Brock had been true to his word, and given him the McDonalds breakfast. But at breakfast, the two of them had a little talk.

"Ash," Brock said. "You really need to think about what is going on here. And what you're going to do about it."

Ash had been about to take a bite of his sandwich when Brock said this. He put it down instead, and looked somber. "I know," he said. "And I have been thinking about it. I just don't know what to do about it. I mean, who wanted all of us here like this? They wanted me to think that Misty was dead. Whoever it is, they know me. They know my weaknesses." Ash hung his head and put his hands behind it. "I don't know what to do Brock."

Brock reached out a hand and put it on his shoulder. "I'll tell you what you do. You get ready. Whoever is out there, trying to get at us, is going to have to go through you. And you, right now, are a pushover." Ash looked up at him. "It's true. In your current state, you would loose to just about anyone. You need to beef up your team."

Ash took a deep breath. "I know. I'm doing it today. This is bigger than anything we've gone up against. And I need some help from my old friends. I just...I just don't know. Everything got so complicated." He looked Brock dead in the eye. "But we're going to make them pay. All of us, are going to make whoever did this, pay."

"I know," Brock said. "We'll get them. I'll call home and get my dad to send me some of my Pokemon. You'll call Professor Oak, get your new team together. And all of us, you, me, Misty May and Dawn, are going to bury whoever did this."

Ash nodded. "We are. After we find them. Honestly, though, I don't even know where to start looking."

"I still say we start with Team Rocket. Even if it isn't Jessie and James, we have still ran into them more than anyone else. And Team Rocket is a global organization, not like Team Galactic or Magma. Those guys are regional. Team Rocket is everywhere."

"Yeah, but it's not like we can just walk up to some random guy and ask directions to the closest Team Rocket hideout. If it was that easy, the police would have arrested them all by now."

Brock thought for a moment, crossing his hands under his chin. "That just means we're going to have to start looking at the shadier side of Cerulean."

Ash stayed silent, the sound of his breathing the only thing breaking the silence. "Just one thing. We leave the girls out of it until we find out who's gunning for us. Deal?"

Brock smiled. "Do you really have to ask? Of course we will."

Ash nodded. "Good," he said, and then picked up his sandwich for another bite.

It was then that Pikachu decided to wake up from his comfortable extended nap. He had woken up when Brock woke up Ash, and then promptly fell back asleep, forcing Ash to carry him the entire way. But, now that he was up, Pikachu was hungry. He tugged at Ash's sleeve. "Pikapi," the mouse whined. Ash didn't even look down at Pikachu. He just took the ketchup bottle that was on the table and put it next to Pikachu. "Pika!" he cried in delight. He loved ketchup.

"But the first thing I have to do," Ash said after he swallowed, "is change up my team. I think I know what I want to do, too."

Brock nodded. "That's good. Now you're starting to think. We'll head to the Pokecenter when you finish up, and then work on some new strategies with your new team. What do you say?"

Ash finished his sandwich with the next bite. At the same time, Pikachu set a now empty bottle of ketchup onto the table. "I say, let's go."

**-----------------**

Ash arrived at the Pokecenter a few minutes later and dialed Professor Oak. The phone rang twice before going to a mechanical voice. "I'm sorry," the voice said, "but Professor Oak is unavailable at the moment. If you would like to leave a message, press one now. If you would like to exchange Pokemon, press two now. If you would like to-" Ash pressed two.

"That's odd," Ash said to Brock. "Professor Oak is usually up by now. And if not him, Tracey certainly is."

Brock nodded. "Yeah. One more odd thing to add to the list."

The voice came back over the phone. "Please insert your Pokedex into the slot." Ash slid it into it's place. "Thank you. Please select the number of Pokemon you wish to exchange." Ash pushed the number two. "Thank you. Please select the Pokemon you would like to receive." Ash looked through the list once, and then went through it a second time, choosing the Pokemon he wanted. He selected Glalie and Sceptile. "Please place the Pokemon you will be returning onto the port."

Ash took out two pokeballs. "Pidgeot, Staraptor, thank you. You have helped me a lot. I'll see you guys later." He placed the two onto the slots and hit the enter button on the pad. The machine flashed 'Sending' across the screen. His two pokeballs were zapped with a beam of energy, and were gone. A few seconds later, two more beams shot down onto the ports, and two pokeballs were in their places. Ash took them from the ports and, after minimizing them, put them on his belt. He turned to Brock. "I'm ready now."

Brock nodded. "Then let's get you up to snuff against a couple trainers, shall we?"

**-----------------**

Brock led Ash to a very well populated Pokemon training spot. Trainers of all kinds had gathered together to test their mettle against one another, trying to see who was the best of them all. It was the ideal spot for Ash to try out his updated team of Pokemon. "Wait for one of them to challenge you," Brock whispered in his ear. "You don't want to appear to be too eager to try yourself against them."

So Ash consigned himself, for the time being, to watching the other trainers battle. He was watching one pair of trainers, just starting out based on their Pokemon, battle, when someone walked up beside him, also watching the match. "Those two are Jim and Izzy," the newcomer said.

Ash made a noncommittal sound, just watching.

"They're just starting out on their journey, training to go up against Misty as their first gym battle." The man turned and held out his hand towards Ash. "I'm Jackson. I'm kind of like their guardian angel, watching out that they don't get any really tough opponents as their first real one."

Ash turned and took his hand. "I'm Ash. I wasn't going to challenge them, I was just watching."

Jackson nodded, understanding. "So, have you won Misty's badge yet? You seem like a good trainer."

"I did, but it was a long time ago. Right now I'm looking to re-acquaint myself with my Pokemon. Some of them I haven't used in a while, and I have a feeling I'll be needing them soon."

Jackson chuckled and patted Ash on the shoulder. "Then you've certainly come to the right place," he said. "I'll challenge you to a battle, Ash. What do you say? Up for a little three on three, free substitutions?"

Ash smiled. "Why not? I'm always looking for a good battle."

"Then follow me," Jackson said, "into my office." Jackson led Ash to another ring not far away from where Jim and Izzy were battling.

"Hey Jackson!" one of the other trainers shouted. "Looks like you got some fresh blood over there. Will there be any left for us when you get done with him?"

"I don't know George!" Jackson shouted back. "This guy beat Misty a while back. I may be the one who looses!" Everyone in earshot laughed a little. Apparently, Jackson was a pretty good trainer.

"If that happens, I'll eat my sandal!" George yelled back, pulling said sandal off of his foot and waving it in the air.

"Shut up and get over here!" Jackson waved him over. "I need someone to be judge for me."

"Coming, coming!" George hopped a few steps as he put his sandal back on, but then jogged over to Jackson. The three walked the rest of the way to Jackson's ring. "Alright trainers, shake hands," George commanded the two.

Jackson and Ash shook hands once, and then headed to their respective sides. Ash was on the blue side, and Jackson the red.

"Alright gentlemen!" George continued. "This will be a three on three, free substitution match. Are you both in agreement?" The two opponents nodded. "Pokeballs ready?" Ash held up a Pokeball, and Jackson answered by holding up one of his own. "Battle, begin!"

"Go, Rhyhorn!" Jackson shouted as he threw his Pokeball. Rhyhorn came crashing out of it's Pokeball with a roar, ready to fight.

"Get 'em, Buizel!" Ash commanded as he also threw a Pokeball. "Bui!" Buizel challenged as he emerged, ready for a fight.

Jackson eyed the water type Pokemon with some caution, but didn't let it sway his strategy with Rhyhorn. "Rhyhorn, Horn Attack!"

"Rhy!" Rhyhorn charged in, lowering it's now glowing horn to come in line with Buizel, gaining speed and momentum as it went.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet up and over it, on my mark." Buizel crouched into a low stance, waiting for his trainer's command. Rhyhorn was fifteen feet away. Ten. Five. Three. "Now!" The water type Pokemon executed it's Aqua Jet right over the charging Rhyhorn, spraying it with water but not directly attacking it.

The Rhyhorn, expecting to meet resistance, stumbled slightly as its target disappeared from in front of it. "Turn around!" Jackson yelled, urging his friend to face it's attacker. "Turn around and use Stone Edge!"

"Quickly, before it turns, Water Pulse followed by Sonic Boom!" Buizel held it's paws together, forming the Water Pulse, and then released it with a yell. It then whipped it's tail around, launching a sonic boom right behind it. The double attack caught the foe Rhydon right as it was about to start the new charge. It almost looked like it was going to deflect the Water Pulse in a different direction, but then the Sonic Boom came in behind it and shattered any chance of that happening. The double attack sent the foe Pokemon flipping horn over paw backwards, almost running into Ash. It tried to get back up, but in the end, couldn't.

"Rhyhorn is unable to battle," George said in an almost awed voice. "Buizel is the winner."

"Rhyhorn, return!" Jackson recalled the fainted Pokemon. He said something that Ash couldn't hear, and then returned it to his belt.

Ash held out a Pokeball of his own. "Buizel, Return." The red beam of light shot out of the Pokeball, returning Buizel. Ash replaced the ball at his belt, pulling out his next one. "Go, Monferno!" he shouted as he threw the Pokeball.

"Monferno!" The fire Pokemon was ready to go, shadow boxing and bouncing on his toes.

"Graveler, go!" Jackson tossed out his next Pokeball, releasing the Graveler inside it. The rock Pokemon lumbered into the center of the ring, facing off against Monferno.

George held up his hand. "Battle, start!"

Jackson made the first move. "Graveler, use Rock Throw." The foe Graveler crunched itself up into a ball and launched itself at Monferno.

Faster than the monkey or his trainer had inticipated. "Monferno, get out of the way!" Ash urged, but it was too fast. As Monferno lept out of the way, Graveler caught it up near the hip, launching the fire Pokemon into a spin as it continued it's leap.

"Mon fer no!" it cried, trying to regain it's balance. Once it did, he launched forward in an attack.

"Mach Punch!" Ash yelled, having predicted what Monferno was doing. Monferno seemed to disappear from view, reappearing right in front of Graveler and landing a solid blow, making the rock Pokemon slide backwards, causing obvious damage.

"Now Graveler, Stone Edge!" Graveler stopped sliding and lurched forward into a run, it's right arm glowing, trying to close the distance between itself and the fire Pokemon.

Monferno somersaulted backwards and landed on all fours, spinning on the ground and coming to a stop facing the enemy Graveler, rumbling towards him like an Avalanche. "Monferno, Flamethrower!" The monkey Pokemon took a deep breath, and then exhaled a torrent of flames. The line of fire hit the Graveler, but didn't do much damage to it. It was, however, slowing it down. The enemies lumbering steps slowed down, step by step, battling against the tongues of fire, until it came to a stop. Neither the fire nor the Graveler gave way, reaching a stalemate.

"Graveler, Rollout!" Graveler jumped up and curled itself into a ball. The jump cost it a little ground, but as soon as it landed it started rolling. It wasn't by much, but now Graveler was clearly gaining ground against the flamethrower.

"Now, Flame Wheel!" Without letting go of the Flamethrower, Monferno jumped forward and spun into a ball, covering itself in flames and charging at Graveler. And, now that the pressure of the Flamethrower was off, Graveler hurtled forward with new speed. The two charged each other, meeting with an explosion (I always thought it was funny how two attacks exploded when they came in contact with each other). The explosion launched the two Pokemon away from each other. When the smoke cleared, it revealed the two foes staring each other down. Ash saw Jackson close his eyes and shake his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, Graveler," he said. "Explosion."

Ash and Monferno widened their eyes in surprise. Never had they seen a trainer use Explosion voluntarily. They didn't have much time to dwell on it, however. Graveler started glowing, and charged at Monferno again, trying to close the distance so that the Explosion had the best effect. "Monferno, quick, use Dig!" Monferno didn't need to be told twice. Monferno started digging like there was no tomorrow. It disappeared under the ground as Graveler closed. Right when the rock Pokemon was over the hole in the ground, it exploded. The sound was deafening, the light blinding. Ash cautiously opened his eyes, peering through the smoke to find Monferno. He saw the Graveler, lying down over the hole, fainted.

Suddenly, Monferno jumped up from a new hole in the center of the ring. "Monferno!" it cried, launching a Flamethrower into the sky.

"Graveler is unable to battle," George said. "Monferno wins." He said it in that same unbelieving tone as before.

"Good job Graveler," Jackson said. "Return." After the pokeball was back at his hip, Jackson contemplated for a moment. This was going to be his last Pokemon.

Ash considered returning Monferno, but decided against it. "Monferno, back to your starting position." It quickly jumped back to it's starting line, waiting for it's new opponent.

Finally, Jackson took a ball from his belt and threw it into the ring. "Let's finish this up, Ninetales!" The white fox appeared from it's ball, sitting serenely at it's starting spot. It looked at Monferno and seemed to sneer at it before standing up, baring it's teeth.

George raised his hand into the air. "Battle, start!"

"Ninetales, Will-O-Wisp!" Ghostly purple fires appeared around Ninetales. And it wasn't just four or five, like Ash had expected. It was a full fifteen flames dancing around Ninetales.

"Monferno, try to dodge them!" Before Ash finished his command, the fires started launching at Monferno. The monkey leaped and rolled around, trying to dodge the barrage coming at him. But, to no avail. After only three dodges, he was hit. Now, having lost his balance and focus, the rest of the ghostly flames zeroed in and connected, burning the fire Pokemon. It wasn't much damage, but it would be persistent over time, damaging him more and more as the battle went on.

Monferno stood up after the barrage, ready to attack. "Now, Flame Wheel!" Monferno spit flames from his mouth as he curled up and launched himself at Ninetales, the fire enveloping him as he went.

Jackson just watched, apparently waiting for the attack to come closer. When it was six feet away, he made his choice. "Ninetales, pivot!" Ninetales took one step forward and fishtailed its back end around, using its front paws as a pivoting point, sliding ever so slightly to the right, until it was ninety degrees to the right of where it had been. "Now, Shadow Claw." Monferno had just passed Ninetales, unable to correct its path in time to hit the fox Pokemon. Now that the monkey was abreast Ninetales, it lashed out with one paw, enveloped in black shadows, hitting Monferno and launching it sideways and into the air. Monferno let go if his flame wheel form while it was in the air. However, for a brief moment, he was surrounded in flames again, the burn still in effect.

As he started to fall, Ash gave his next command. "Dig, now!" Monferno rotated backward and did a beautiful back dive into the ring, digging as he landed.

Ninetales stood at it's previous position, waiting. Jackson looked around for any signs of Monferno's reappearance. There was no warning, however, when Monferno flew out of the ground, striking Ninetales in the midsection, launching the white fox into the air. The burn hit Monferno again, however, reducing his health even more.

Jackson gave his next command. "Fire Blast!" he yelled. Ninetales aimed its mouth down at the ground, fire spilling out of its mouth. It let out a loud roar as it launched the Fire Blast straight down at Monferno.

"Flamethrower!" Ash urged Monferno. The monkey let out a cry of its own, shooting a line of fire to intercept the attack. The two fires battled each other, at a stand still for the barest of moments, before Ninetales attack broke apart the opposing flames. Monferno didn't even have time to look surprised before the attack hit him, engulfing everything nearby in smoke and fire.

Jackson watched the smoke as intently as Ash, waiting for it to clear. When finally it did, it revealed Monferno motionless on the ground.

"Monferno is unable to battle," George declared almost smugly.

Ash took out Monferno's ball and bid him return. "You did good, buddy," Ash said before replacing the ball at his belt. He took out Buizel's ball and released him. "Come on Buizel, let's do this!"

"Bui!"

Buizel and Ninetales went to their starting places, eying each other with disdain.

"Battle, start!"

As soon as the start was issued, Buizel took a giant leap backwards, putting space between himself and the fox.

Jackson, however started with an attack. "Will-O-Wisp!"

Again, the ghostly purple flames materialized out of thin air around Ninetales, circling lazily before launching at Buizel.

But this time, Ash was ready for it. "Buizel, use Aqua Jet and dodge the flames!"

Buizel propelled itself forward, water surrounding him and jetting him forward. He weaved in and out between the flames as they tried to hit him. Miraculously, all the flames missed him, flying past harmlessly. Buizel connected with Ninetales head on, sending the white fox flying backwards. It quickly recovered, however, landing on all fours, waiting its next order.

Jackson didn't like his Ninetales going up against a water type Pokemon. He wanted to end this quickly. "Ninetales, Fireblast!"

Ninetales bared its teeth in a snarl, fire popping out between its teeth. It opened it's mouth and let loose a blisteringly huge Fire Blast, bigger than the one unleashed against Monferno.

"Water Pulse Buizel!" The weasel Pokemon brought its hands together, bringing forth the orb of water. It threw the ball at the oncoming flames with all his might, hoping that it would stop the star shaped flames. The two attacks met with a hiss, releasing a torrent of steam that quickly spread throughout the ring. The points of the star were visible through the steam for a few moments, continuing their forward path before fading. Neither trainer could see their Pokemon in the dense fog now surrounding them. This worked into a plan of Ash's, though. "Sonicboom, now!" Ash heard a 'Bui!' off to his left, and saw the steam thin throughout the path of the attack.

Ninetales and Jackson saw it too, however. "Ninetales, dodge it and use Shadow Claw!" The white fox nimbly jumped out of the way of the oncoming Sonicboom, and took off at a sprint towards where the attack originated from, its right paw growing tendrils of black shadow.

Ash saw the movement in the steam. "Ice Punch, now!" Ash saw a white glow in the midst of the arena, and saw it lurch forward to meet a dark shadow coming through the steam. The two met with a sizzle, sending icy cold air off all around, clearing a decent sized circular area of steam. "Now, while you're close, Aqua Jet!"

Buizel lowered its head, covered itself in water, and launched itself into Ninetales face, head butting it with the full force of the attack. Ninetales flipped backwards snout over tail once, twice, thrice, and then skid to a stop on its side. It tried to get up, but fell back to the ground.

George looked at the battlefield, stunned. Jackson had to clear his throat, reminding him what to do. "Uh, right. Ninetales is unable to battle. Ash is the winner." He just shook his head in amazement.

Unexpectedly, there was cheering. Not much, no more than six people, but still unexpected. Ash looked around in surprise, seeing that the ring had attracted a good sized audience. How come he hadn't heard them before? It must have been the adrenaline of the battle, dulling him to everything but what was in front of him.

"Ninetales, return." Jackson's voice brought Ash back to his senses.

"Buizel, return." Ash put Buizel's ball back away and walked to the center of the ring where Jackson was waiting. Once there, he shook Jackson's hand. "That was a good match. Your Ninetales was absolutely amazing."

"Yeah, she did pretty good," Jackson conceded. "Your Pokemon were really good too though. You didn't even have to bring out a third. I'm impressed."

"Thanks," Ash said, slightly embarrassed.

Jackson now turned to their judge, George. "I believe you said something earlier about eating your sandal?" he asked. George gaped in disbelief.

"Do I really have to?" he asked.

"It's not up to me. It's up to them." Jackson gestured to the crowd assembled. They all cheered, wanting to see George eat his own sandal.

"Man," he groaned. "Does anyone have a pot I can boil this in?" The crowd laughed, intent on the spectacle before them now.

Jackson caught Ash's attention with a wave of his arm, indicating that Ash should follow him. Ash kept an eye on Jackson as the two weaved their way through the crowd, finally getting clear of the chaos and cheers.

"There's someone I'd like for you to meet," Jackson said to Ash. "He'd probably like to battle against you too. Do you think your other Pokemon are up to going against a guy stronger than me?"

Ash thought for a moment, and then shrugged. "We'll see, won't we?"

"Pikapi," Pikachu said from his spot on Ash's shoulder. "Pi ka chu ka chu chu pika pika chu ka."

Ash reached up and rubbed the mouse's head between his ears. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you (I actually did for a second. Oops). I'll send you out first thing on the next battle, promise."

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered happily.

"Than follow me," Jackson said, starting to walk.

Again, silently, Ash followed. Whatever was waiting for him, he would face it head on. He couldn't afford to hesitate. Not anymore.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**------------------**

AN: So this is part one. I started writing this intending it to be one chapter, but it stated getting really long, and I wanted to put it out. So here it is. Feel free to comment and discuss among yourselves. Who is developing plans? Who is letting them mature? Who is the puppet master? Why was Misty so cheerful? Why couldn't Ash get a hold of Professor Oak? What happens now? Also, let me know how the flow of the fighting was. Writing it it seemed good. Reading it seemed alright too. I know it was only a couple turns per fight, but this was only trainer 1. Ash still has a couple more. Before the Ash section is over, he will have used all of his new team to fight. Well, kind of new. Pikachu, Monferno, Buizel, Charizard, Sceptile, and Glalie. There will also be a Misty section, which will have the confrontation with Adam among other things, and there will be a Delia section too. Let me know what you guys think!

Review and recommend please! Penguin King, out~


	11. Battles For All, Part 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. There, short and simple.

----------

Now for Part two of The Choices They Have Made, Battles For Everyone!

----------

**ASH**

----------

Jackson led him away from the group of people now surrounding the ring, amused at seeing a man try to eat his own sandal. It was funny, Ash admitted to himself. But however amusing it was, it seemed like Jackson really wanted to show Ash something.

The two of them didn't get far before Brock joined in. This caused Jackson to stop rather abruptly. "I'm sorry, but who are you?" Jackson asked in a polite, yet annoyed, voice.

"I'm Brock," he responded, holding out a hand. Jackson shook it once, and then let go.

"I'm sorry, but I'm kind of busy. Was there something you needed?"

"He's a friend of mine," Ash said. "He can come with."

Jackson looked him up and down once, as if trying to gauge his strength. Finally, he gave a single nod and continued walking, taking the lead and letting Ash and Brock follow.

"You did good back there Ash," Brock said. "It would have been smarter to put Buizel back out as soon as Ninetales came out though."

Ash shrugged. "Monferno was on a roll, and I wanted to keep up the momentum."

"If he was going up against a type he was neutral against, or even had the advantage against, I'd completely agree. But not only was he up against a resistant type, but one with experience and in tip top health." Brock tapped Ash once on the head with his knuckles. "You got to think things through better."

Ash rubbed his head. "Yeah, yeah. Hurry up, Jackson is leaving us behind." Ash and Brock picked up their pace, catching up to their new friend.

"Where is he taking us, anyways?"

"To a friend of mine," Jackson said, looking over his shoulder. "I think he'll be interested in you guys. You in particular, Ash. He's a really strong trainer, but you have to get by his pet trainer first. Think that will be any problem?"

"Well," Ash said, thinking. "That depends. Will I be able to have my Pokemon healed before fights?"

Jackson smiled, shaking his head. "Nope." He had led Ash and Brock out of the training park and towards a medium sized building.

"What about before I fight this other trainer?"

Jackson opened the door before gesturing them through. "Nope. You fight him before you fight the big guy."

Ash hesitated. "Just how strong is the big guy?"

Jackson just grinned and chuckled in answer.

Ash smiled in response. "What do you say Brock? Should I give it a go?"

Brock nodded. "I think you should man. It will give you more credit here. It's been a while since you beat Misty, and it's not like anyone knew who you were when you did that. Even if you loose, it will put your name out on the streets, and be helpful when we start hunting."

"Alright then." Ash turned and walked into the door, Brock falling in step behind him. Jackson entered last and closed the door.

The room that they were in now seemed like the reception area of a normal office building. It was sparsely furnished, with a couple chairs and a table. There were a couple decorative plants scattered throughout the area. There was a reception desk with a woman sitting behind it. She was on the phone when the three men walked up.

"Yes. Absolutely," she said to whoever was on the other end of the phone. She had a pen and paper and was writing down a message. "Not a problem sir. I'll make sure he gets it. Thanks, you too. Bye." She hung the phone up on the receiver and finished writing the message. Setting the pen down on her desk, she looked up at the three people in front of her desk. "Yes, how can I help you gentlemen?"

Jackson waved his hand. "Hey there Gloria. I got a possible prospect here."

"Oh really?" she asked playfully. "Is he anything like your last 'prospect' you brought in here?"

"Hey, you can't blame me for that. How was I supposed to know he couldn't go past a walk without having an asthma attack?"

Gloria rolled her eyes, then broke into a laugh. "Alright. You know the way still, right? It's been a while since you've been here."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Jackson said as he moved to a door next to the desk. "I still remember. You coming Ash?"

Brock and Ash followed Jackson to the door. "Thank you ma'am," Ash said as he passed by Gloria.

"Not a problem young man. Good luck!" She smiled her well wishes, and then picked up the phone and started dialing a number.

The door automatically closed behind Ash. The three were now in an elevator with only one button on it, unmarked. Jackson hit the button and the elevator started going up. Ash, Brock, and Jackson rode in silence. Jackson was excited. Ash's next opponent was pretty strong. But, as Jackson had seen first hand, so was Ash. The only difference this time was that Ash would have to use other Pokemon than he had in the battle he had had. Buizel could probably still fight some, but he was tired, and Monferno was definitely out of commission for a while. Jackson glanced at Pikachu, sitting on Ash's shoulder. Jackson was most curious about the mouse. Not many trainers kept Pikachus. They were decent as far as electric types go, but most trainers evolved them into Raichu as soon as they got the chance. Maybe it was sentimentality, but Jackson didn't think so. There was something different about this one.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open to reveal a well dressed man sitting backwards in a rolling chair on the far side of a large room. That was it. There was nothing else in the room to indicate its purpose or reason for being there. The man alone wasn't even a very good indicator.

"Jackson!" the man exclaimed, pushing himself and the chair across the room. "It's been far to long since I've seen you last. How have you been?" The man stopped the chair a couple feet away from the group and stood up.

Jackson, Ash, and Brock all stepped out of the elevator. Jackson held out his hand to shake the other mans hand, but it was ignored. Instead, Jackson was pulled into a large hug. "You really should drop by more," the man admonished, squeezing the breath out of Jackson. "It gets so boring up here with no one to keep me company. I ask you, is it so hard to come up here once in a while just to say hi?"

"Tom. I. Can't. Breath." Jackson managed to wheeze out. The man let him out of the hug and took a step back, allowing Jackson to catch his breath. "Thanks. That's better. Tom, I'd like to introduce you to Brock and Ash. Guys, this is Tom."

"Hey Tom," Ash said, waving. He didn't want to be pulled into the same Death Hug that Jackson had.

"Nice to meet you, Tom," Brock said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu cried out, waving from Ash's shoulder.

"Nice to meet you, gentlemen. My name is Tom." Tom made a deep, elegant bow towards them. Once he stood up, he turned towards Jackson. "So, Gloria tells me that you have a prospect for me to test out."

"Yup. Ash here-" Jackson started to gesture towards Ash, but was stopped by Jackson.

"Nonononono! Let me guess which one is Ash. Although, I think I know. I see it, in the gleam in his eyes. The way he is standing, the fierce determination to prove himself against all odds, and the overwhelming desire to protect all that he loves." Tom took a deep breath. "Yes, I smell it in the air. Adrenaline, hope, expectations. Yes, you have found me a promising opponent today Jackson. I am impressed."

Ash started swelling a little with the praise.

"Yes, I know who my opponent is. Ash!" he yelled, pointing. "I challenge you to a battle!"

"Umm, I'm not Ash."

Tom was pointing at Brock, and issuing his challenge at him. He started spluttering. "What?! How can you not be Ash? If you aren't Ash, that means this little boy is Ash, and I refuse to believe that," he harrumphed, crossing his arms. "He doesn't even look old enough to start training. What are you, son, eleven? Twelve?"

"I'm fifteen, thank you," Ash said indignantly. Tom had started out seeming like a nice guy, but now Ash was mad.

Tom turned to Jackson, a pleading look coming across his face. "Jackson, why must you do this to me?" he said, sounding pained.

"Oh, come on Tom. He's really quite good. He took my three down with two. I can only guess what his other three Pokemon are.

Tom sighed and walked back to his chair. "Fine," he said petulantly, rolling himself back to the other side of the room. "Ash, I challenge you to a battle, et cetera et cetera. Do you accept?"

Ash was quiet for a moment. "You know, just for that, I'm going to accept your challenge, and squash you." He stomped to where he thought he should stand, turning his hat backwards. Pikachu jumped down from his perch and stood next to his trainer.

Tom looked at Ash and did a quick double take. "You look like...no. Never mind. Jackson! You be the judge."

Jackson jogged over to one of the far walls, Brock following him. He came to a stop dead center between the two combatants. "Trainers, are you ready?"

Ash and Tom both nodded, staring each other down. "Ready!" he yelled, pushing a section on the wall. The room burst into motion. First, lines of light erupted along the floor, outlining the arena. Once it finished outlining the trainer boxes and the judges box, the three sections jutted ten feet into the air. Arena lights turned on from the ceiling, illuminating the ring. "Trainers, select your Pokemon!" Tom reached to his waist and pulled out a Pokeball.

Ash went through his team in his head. He had to make a big start. No bigger start than his first Pokemon. Ash nodded at Pikachu, indicating that he would be Ash's first choice. Pikachu leaped down from the trainer square, scurrying over to his starting point. He stayed on all fours, ears back, cheeks spurting electricity sporadically.

"Lanturn, go." Tom threw his Pokeball, releasing a Lanturn. The bluish fish flopped around for a moment before adopting a semi-stable stance, glaring across at his opponent.

"Battle, Start!"

"Pikachu, let's finish this quick!" Ash yelled. "Thunderbolt!"

"Pi-ka-chu!" A bolt of electricity launched itself from Pikachu to the fish out of water.

"Lanturn, Thunderbolt!" A lance of electricity flew from the fish's front antenna and collided with Pikachus attack in an explosionh, rendering it null.

_Duh,_ Ash thought to himself. _Lanturn is part electric._ "Pikachu, get behind it!" The little mouse was almost invisible to the eye as it skitted across the ring.

Tom yelled out his own commands. "Lanturn, hit it with Water Gun!" Jets of water shot from Lanturns mouth, all aimed at Pikachu. The streams of water followed the mouse, chasing it around the ring, until Lanturn couldn't turn its head anymore. "Lanturn, hop up!" Tom cried out in desperation.

"Now Pikachu, while it can't hit you, Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu charged the Lanturn, electricity streaming over his entire body. The fish hopped, trying to turn around, but to late. Pikachu caught the foe in mid-air. "Chuuuu!!" Pikachu cried on contact, the force of the tackle and electricity transfered into his opponent.

Lanturn was launched across the ring, landing on the opposite side, but the electricity seemed to be absorbed into its antenna, and it seemed to be revitalizing the foe instead of harming it.

"What?" Ash asked himself, confused. "Why didn't that..."

Tom chuckled at Ash's confusion. "That's Lanturn's ability, Volt Absorb. It takes any electrical attacks and uses the energy to heal itself. What are you going to do now?" Tom didn't give Ash any time to respond though. "Lanturn, another Thunderbolt!"

"Turn!" the pokemon cried as it discharged a bolt of electricity at Pikachu.

"Quick Attack to dodge!" Pikachu flung himself into a zig zag pattern, avoiding the electrical onslaught. "Now close the distance!" Dodging in and out of the foes attacks, Pikachu slowly closed the distance between them, picking up speed as he made his way through the maze of electricity. "Iron Tail!" Pikachu made a step to his right. At the instant Lanturn launched another attack, Pikachu spun to the left, whipping his tail around behind him and hitting Lanturn square in the face with the attack, sending Lanturn spinning around on the ground.

Thinking quickly, Tom gave his next command. "Hydro Pump Lanturn!" Still spinning crazily, Lanturn unleashed a devistating torrent of water from its mouth, shooting water out in all directions.

"Pikachu, jump up!" Pikachu jumped up into the air, but a spray of water caught his back foot as he jumped, sending him into a series of front flips. "Use the flip as momentum and Iron Tail again!"

"Pi-ka!" Aiming as best he could, Pikachu sent himself in Lanturn's direction, and was satisfied with the solid thump of his tail on the enemy, halting his flip. The streams of water slowed to a dribble before coming to a stop, and as soon as Lanturn stopped spinning, the Jackson made his call. "Lanturn is unable to battle!"

"Good job Lanturn, return."

"Pikachu, return." Unable to get back onto the platform, Pikachu ran out of the ring and stood next to the raised platform. "Good job buddy, let's just rest for now."

"My my," Tom said, pulling out his next pokeball. "Maybe I was right before."

"Right about what?"

"That would be telling now, wouldn't it?" Tom smiled, and tossed out his next Pokemon. "Tropius!" The Pokemon came from its ball with a roar and set itself to hovering on its side of the ring.

Ash grinned. "Glalie, go!" He tossed the ball into the ring, releasing the ice pokemon within.

"Batlle, Start!"

"Wing Attack Tropius!" The leaf pokemon launched itself into full flight, charging straight at Glalie, wings beginning to glow.

"Glalie, Icy Wind!" The ice pokemon opened its mouth, and a gust of freezing wind came out. The sudden gust of wind caught Tropius's wings and sent him tumbling in mid air, forcing him to break off the attack and regain balance.

"Solar Beam Tropius!" The dinosaur-like Pokemon landed and opened its mouth, charging up for his next attack.

"Wait for it, Glalie," Ash said in an expectant voice. "Wait for it." The attack was charged, and shot out at Glalie. "Now, Ice Beam!" The two beams met in an explosion, sending both foes back a pace. But, before the smoke had cleared, Tropius had launched its next attack. Leaves, edges shinning dangerously, hurtled through the air, whistling with their approach. "Icy Wind again!" Fortunately, Glalie was paying attention, and the Icy Wind deflected the leaves into disarray.

Tropius was beating its wings, clearing the smoke from the ring, and bringing itself into a hover. The glow forming in its mouth showed it was preparing for another solar beam. "Quick, Ice Beam again!" The jagged line of energy shot from Glalie, and before Tropius could respond to the attack, was struck. From the point of contact, ice quickly spread, covering the pokemon into a solid block of ice that fell to the earth with a loud "Boom!"

Tom looked at ash thoughtfully as he recalled his frozen Pokemon to its ball. "Maybe you are..."

"Are what?" Ash asked, frustrated with the man. Tom couldn't seem to make up his mind with him. One minute he was treated like a kid, the next respected as a man far beyond his years. It was really beginnint to irritate him.

"That's the million dollar question now, isn't it?" Tom responded, pulling out his third and final Pokemon. "Let's go, Ludicolo!" The green and yellow Pokemon emerged from its ball in a fighting pose, ready for whatever may come its way.

"Glalie, hang out there," Ash commanded, wondering what was coming his way.

"Trainers ready?!" Jackson called. They both nodded in the affirmative. "Battle, Start!"

"Rain Dance Ludicolo!" The duck-like Pokemon began dancing side to side, chanting its name. Clouds started to form inside the room, coalescing very slowly at first, but then with greater speed. In a matter of seconds, a fat rain drop fell on Ash's face. This startled him from his reverie and into action. "Glalie, Double Team!" Glalie hopped into the air. Upon landing, several clones split out from it, creating a small army of Glalies. "Headbut, while it's still dancing!" The rain began to fall more heavily, more steadily now. Charging through the rain, the Glalies made their way towards the enemy Ludicolo, spreading out and circling to attack it from multiple angles.

But, Ash had acted too late. "Ludicolo, jump!" Tom yelled. Ludicolo stopped its dancing and chanting, jumping up and backwards at the last second. The Glalie clones all converged on the place where Ludicolo had been, colliding, eliminating all but the original. Slightly dazed, Glalie turned towards the enemy.

"Icy Wind Glalie!" Glalie launched its attack, but, still being dazed, missed.

"Water Gun Ludicolo."

"Ludicolo!" A jet of water burst forth from the foe towards the helpless Pokemon.

"Glalie!" the Pokemon cried as it was struck, launching it backwards and into the raised platform where Ash was standing.

"Glalie, are you all right?"

"Brick Break Ludicolo!"

Once more, Ludicolo was on the move, charging across the ring.

"Glalie!" Ash called. The ice Pokemon finally responded, rolling up to face the opponant. "Ice Beam!" Glalie shot out the jagged beam of freezing cold, but, once again, missed. Ludicolo was almost on top of them now, fist glowing in preparation for the attack. Ash gritted his teeth. "No choice. Glalie, Headbut!" Glalie charged Ludicolo. Ludicolo charged Glalie. The two met with a resounding crash, the sound reverberating throughout the room, hanging ominously in the air.

"Glalie is unable to battle," Jackson declared. "Ludicolo is the winner!"

"Glalie, return," Ash said somberly, saddened by the loss. The rain still falling didn't help much. He looked down at the edge of the ring, where Pikachu stood waiting. "Ready buddy?" he asked thee mouse.

"Pika!" he responded, determined to avenge his friend.

"Then let's go!"

Pikachu made his way to his place in the ring, Ludicolo already waiting at its place.

"Battle, start!" Jackson said once more.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Pikachu launched into action, dashing in random directions, closing the distance between the two Pokemon, puddles splashing up water at his footfalls.

"Brick Break!" Tom commanded when Pikachu was in range. The Pokemon's hand descended towards the dashing mouse, but missed, fist crashing into the ground behind it.

"Iron Tail Pikachu!"

Pikachu did one more dash to change direction, and jumped into the air, tail glowing, and whipped it through the air, connecting with the lillypad on Ludicolo's head.

"Colo!" the foe cried as it was slammed backwards and down, face smashing into the ground.

Pikachu landed lightly on his feet, waiting as Ludicolo got up on one knee.

"Hydro Pump!"

Ludicolo took a deep breath, and launched a torrent of water at Pikachu.

"Counter Shield Pikachu!"

Pikachu fell to his back spinning, electricity leaping out in all directions. The streaks of Thunderbolt slammed into the oncomming Hydro Pump, time after time, until it broke up completely. The stray charges, without an attack to hit, flew towards Ludicolo, shocking it until Pikachu stopped spinning.

"Brick Break!" Tom commanded.

Ludicolo tried to move, but couldn't.

"Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu charged through the rain once more, electricity covering his body, leaving a trail of yellow static in the air behind him. "Pika!" he yelled on contnact, connecting squarely in Ludicolos gut. It tumbled backwards once, twice, thrice, then lay still.

"Ludicolo is unable to battle!" Jackson declared. "Ash is the winner!" The clouds above dissapated and the stages were lowered, indicating the end of the battle.

After the Pokemon returned to their trainers, Tom, Ash, Jackson, and Brock all met in the middle of the ring.

"Well fought, Ash," Tom praised. "You beat me fair and square."

"You said something earlier," Ash said. "Can you tell me what you meant?"

Tom just grinned. "It's not for me to tell," he said. "Maybe if you beat your last opponent, he'll tell you." Tom gestured to the door across the room. "He's that way. Go see if you can beat him." Whistling, Tom made his way to the elevator that went down to the lobby.

"Don't worry about it," Jackson said, patting Ash on the back. "He's always annoying like that. And way to go! You took him out with only two Pokemon too. Think you can keep that up with the big guy?"

"Who is the big guy anyways?" Brock asked. "Is he a well known trainer?"

Jackson moved his head from side to side. "Well, yes and no. He's known in some circles, but for the most part he's an unknown." Jackson started for the door. "I mean, not every trainer fights in the League, you know? Or at least, not forever. They have to grow up at some point, do something with their lives."

"And that's who he is?" Ash asked. "A trainer who's 'grown up?' What does that make us, children?" Ash bent down for Pikachu to get on his shoulder and straightened his cap, following Jackson across the room.

"You know that's not what I meant," Jackson responded, waiting by the door.

"He's speaking figuratively," Brock cut in. "Think of it like a higher level of trainer."

"Yeah," Jackson said. "That's a better way to put it."

Ash looked from Jackson to Brock, then shrugged. "Whatever. Are we going?"

Jackson opened the door. "After you."

Ash walked through, followed by Brock, then Jackson. They entered a very long hallway that twisted and turned all around, almost like a maze. The "What's up Ash?" Brock asked as they started down the hallway. "You've been broody lately."

"Is broody even a word?" Ash asked.

"Must be. It didn't get a red squiggly line under it."

"What?"

"Never mind. What's on your mind?"

"Tom knew more than he was letting on. And this all seems like a big test."

"It probably is. Remember what Jackson said at the front desk? You're a prospect."

"Prospect for what though."

"I don't know. There's only one way to find out though."

"And that's beating the next guy."

Brock nodded. "You want to keep on with this?"

Ash nodded. "I've come to far to back down now. We're going to beat this guy, and see if he has any clues on what's going on."

A door came into view around the next bend. Jackson reached out and caught Brock by the shoulder. "This is as far as we can go," Jackson said, almost regretfully. "Ash goes alone from here."

Brock looked at the door, then to Ash. "Be careful," he said. "And try to think things through."

Ash gave a crooked smile. "This is me we're talking about here."

"I know," Brock chuckled. "I may as well be giving advice to a brick wall. Good luck."

"Thanks." Ash turned down the hall and walked deliberately to it. The door slid up into the ceiling as he came close to it, and closed after he entered.

"Let's wait for him in the lobby," Jackson suggested to Brock.

Brock looked at the door once more, than turned to Jackson. "Alright. Let's go," he replied, and followed Jackson back down the hallway.

* * *

Ash found himself in what seemed like a living room. There was a couch, some chairs, a television, stereo. It almost seemed like he was in a normal house. Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder to walk alongside Ash. "Hello?" he called, walking around the room. He didn't want to sit down uninvited. In fact, he was almost unsure whether he should be there at all. "Is anyone here?"

There wasn't even a sound to indicate that the person was there. Ash just felt a touch on his shoulder, light as a flower petal falling, and suddenly he was falling to the ground, feet tripped up by a leg behind him. He landed flat on his back with a thump, the air being driven from his chest on landing. "Ow," he gasped, trying to recover his breath. It wasn't until after he could breathe again that he noticed that he was being straddled by a girl about his age, her dark hair wet and her shirt sticking to her skin in some places, as if she hadn't finished drying off from a shower or a swim. It took him another moment to realize how close her face was to his, and another to finally realize that her forearm was across his throat, ready to cut him from air at the slightest provocation.

"Who are you," the girl asked, "And what are you doing here?" Her breath smelled of mint and her hair of lavender. Odd how he was noticing these little insignificant details. Ash felt a pressure at his throat. "Well?"

Ash swallowed. "Uh, I'm Ash. Jackson brought me here."

"Pika!" Pikachu was standing next to Ash's head now, sparks flying from his cheeks, an angry glare in his eyes. He was ready to shock this girl to kingdom come, and would in a second.

"Hold on a second Pikachu," Ash asked. "Let's all just calm down." He looked back at the girl. "I gave you my name. Can I get yours?"

"Jacky, if you're going to jump a guy, can you at least do it in your own room?" a new voice said from across the room.

The girls face suddenly turned red, and she jumped up and away, spluttering. "I wasn't... We weren't... He's not... He snuck in here!" she finally said. "I don't know who he is. Don't I have a right to protect myself from trespassers?"

The new person came into view and reached out a hand towards Ash to help him up. "Of course you do Jacky," he said patronizingly. "But you should probably find out why he's here before you start choking him to death." Ash grabbed the hand and was pulled up by the man. Once he was standing, he looked from the girl, Jacky apparently, to the other man, who was old enough to be her grandfather. Before he could say anything, Jacky stomped off in another direction, muttering something under her breath about boys.

"Sorry about that," the older gentleman said. "I'm Bill, and that was my pupil Jacky." He held out his hand to shake Ash's.

Ash took the hand. "I'm Ash, and that's Pikachu." Pikachu was eying the newcomer warily.

"I see that," he said with a smile towards the mouse. "So, what can I do for you Ash?"

"Well, a guy named Jackson brought me here."

"You don't say," Bill said.

"Yeah. I'm supposed to have a match against the leader here I guess. I beat Jackson, then Tom just a little bit ago."

"Really. It's been a while since someone beat Tom. You must be a pretty good trainer."

Ash shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to brag. He sensed that bragging wouldn't impress Bill.

"So you're here for the big guy. You think you're ready?"

"I guess I have to be, don't I?" Ash asked.

Bill laughed. "I suppose you do, don't you? Alright, follow me. I'll take you to the ring."

"Will he be there?" Ash asked, following Bill.

"He should be. I am 'the big guy,' after all."

"Really? I was expecting someone a bit... well, younger."

Bill laughed again. "Don't spare my feelings, Ash."

"I mean, I don't mean that you can't battle. It's just that, the way Tom and Jackson were talking about you, you seemed..."

"Yeah, I know what you meant." Bill opened up a door and walked through it, Ash following him. They were in another fighting ring, the lines painted in chalk lines on a grass field.

"We're inside, aren't we?" Ash asked.

"Yup. That's what makes this so cool." Bill walked over to a wall and hit a button on it. "Jacky, come out here when you're ready. I want you to watch this." He turned back to Ash. "Which side do you want?"

"I'll take the blue side," Ash said, heading to the side with the blue flags.

"That means I'm red." Bill went to the red side and waited for Jacky to show up. When she did, she looked exasperated.

"Yes Bill?"

"I need you to judge."

"Fine." She walked to the center of the ring, then backed up to the wall. "Grass?"

"Oh, right. Ash, this is a special ring. We have a variable terrain option. It can change to whatever you want. We're doing a three on three match. The winner of each individual match chooses the terrain for the next battle. Since you're the visitor, I'll let you have the first terrain choice."

Ash looked surprised. "Wait, how does it change?"

Bill shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure. I just know it does."

"What are the options?"

"Whatever you want."

Ash thought for a second. "Let's start with a rocky field, with a couple really big ones in there."

Jacky pushed a couple buttons on the wall. Platforms were raised from the ground like in the room with Tom, and Ash and Pikachu were raised from the ground to look at the grassy field. Suddenly, it flashed white, the light moved around, and the terrain was changed. It was like looking at a mountain trail. It was plain brown dirt, with rocks embedded in the ground and lying on the ground. There were two big rocks on the field too, one on each side.

"That's really cool," Ash said.

"Isn't it though?" Bill pulled out a Pokeball. "So, you ready to start?"

Ash smiled, and turned his cap around, pulling out a Pokeball of his own. "Whenever you are, old man."

Bill furrowed his brow, looking intently at Ash. Then, he smiled and burst out laughing. "Oh, this is too good," Bill said between his laughs. "I don't know how I didn't see it before."

"See what?" Ash asked.

"What's your last name Ash?" Bill asked, a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Ketchum. Can you tell me what's going on? Tom acted funny too, and I want to know why. He told me you knew the answers."

"I'm not surprised Tom acted funny. Tell you what. If you can beat me, I'll answer three questions. Sound like a deal?"

Ash nodded. "Deal."

"Jacky, you ready?" Bill asked.

Jacky was staring at Ash intently. _Wow,_ she thought to herself. _First Haruka's kid, and now Ketchum's. This is going to be good._ "Yeah. Trainers ready? Select your Pokemon."

Ash threw his Pokeball out first. "Charizard, let's go." Charizard burst forth from his ball with tongues of fire licking out between his mouth, his tail flame stoked high. He looked positively ferocious, his wings beating slightly, stirring up the dust in the ring, ready for a fight.

Bill tossed his ball out at the same time. "Donphan," he said quietly as the Pokemon was released. The elephant-like Pokemon reared up and trumpeted its name, landing back on all fours with the sound of the ground beneath its feat cracking slightly. "So that's what you have left," Bill said across the ring. "I already know from Jackson that you have a Buizel, Monferno, Glalie, and of course Pikachu. I was wondering what you had left in your team. A Charizard wasn't quite what I was expecting, as you already have a fire-type. What else do you have up your sleeve?"

Ash didn't respond. He looked at Jacky expectantly, waiting for the battle to start.

She shook her head and looked at the arena. "Battle, start!" she yelled.

"Charizard, return!" Ash said, holding out the Pokeball. The red beam of light touched Charizard, and he was recalled back to the ball.

"Interesting," Bill said. "Switching out so early?"

Ash just gave a crooked smile and threw out another ball. "Sceptile, go!" The grass Pokemon was released in the starting position, standing nonchalantly, twig in mouth. "Now I'm ready."

"Alright, let's start this than. Defense Curl Donphan!"

"Solar Beam Sceptile!"

Sceptile began gathering energy in his mouth, standing in the ready position, watching Donphan as it curled into a ball. The enemy Pokemon flashed once, raising its defense, but didn't come out of its ball. Instead, it began spinning like a wheel, sending up a cloud of dust behind it, waiting for its command to move.

Sceptile's attack finished charging, and he took aim. With a roar, the beam of solar energy streaked across the arena towards Donphan.

"Rapid Spin!" Donphan's forward spinning stopped abruptly, and changed to a sideways spin, like a top. The sudden change in rotation caused Donphan to veer to the side crazily, getting him just out of the way of the attack. It didn't stop there though. Donphan kept moving side to side, back and forward, unpredictable, changing direction all the time, yet still heading straight towards Sceptile. Another direction change sent it straight towards the grass Pokemon at a crazy speed. Only Sceptiles quick reflexes saved it from the attack, jumping to the side at the last minute. Donphan changed direction just as quickly, however, launching itself at Sceptile again. Once more, Sceptile jumped out of the way. And once more, Donphan followed.

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade!" Instead of jumping out of the way, Sceptile launched itself at Donphan, the leaves on his arm glowing green and growing out to long blades. Like a strike of lightning, the speed of Sceptile's attack cut through the air, landing with a resounding crack on the foe Donphan. It halted all forward movement, sending Donphan backwards and into the air, still curled up, and into one of the large rocks in the arena, like a shot fired from a canon. The rock held, barely, but large chunks fell away from it, flying out in all directions.

"Rollout Donphan!" Donphan launched itself from the debris as if nothing had happened, a streak of dust being kicked up behind it as it rolled towards Sceptile.

"Agility!" Sceptile kicked in a burst of speed of its own, nimbly dodging out of the way, then keeping up behind Donphan as it rolled on, trying to circle back around to attack Sceptile.

Bill saw that Donphan was at a disadvantage in speed. Sceptile was closing the distance, and still avoiding all attempts at being hit. Reluctantly, he gave his next command. "Defense Curl!" Abruptly, Donphan stopped, glowing once again. Surprised at the sudden stop, Sceptile continued hurtling forward and tripped over the immobile Pokemon. He kept his focus, though, and performed a front roll and spun around and once more charged the Pokemon.

"Pound it into the air Sceptile!" Sceptile came to a stop right in front of the curled up Pokemon, bringing his left fist down, arm scraping the ground, and hit the Donphan squarely, popping it up ten feet into the air. "Now Leaf Blade!" Sceptiles arm leaves grew again as it jumped up to meet the now falling Donphan. Sceptile drew his right arm back and, using his Leaf Blade, spiked the helpless Donphan into the other large rock on the field. It struck the rock with a crash, the entire rock collapsing on top of the foe Pokemon. Sceptile landed nimbly, chewing the twig in his mouth, waiting for the dust to clear.

Finally, it settled, revealing the fainted Donphan amidst the rubble of the rock. "Donphan is unable to battle," Jacky declared, no emotion in her voice.

"That was a good first round Ash," Bill said, recalling his fainted Pokemon. "You're the victor. Would you like to change the terrain, or leave it as is?"

Ash examined the field, thinking. "Can the weather be changed as well?"

Bill smiled. "Now you're thinking. Yes, it can be."

Ash nodded. "Then I want it to be sunny and lightly forested."

Jacky hit a couple buttons on the wall, and the arena changed again. Now it was grass in stead of dirt, and in the stead of rocks were a few saplings and two large trees. It was also almost blindingly bright.

Sceptile moved to his place again, waiting for his foe to face him.

"Frosslass," Bill said, tossing a ball almost lazily into the field, "Go." The ghost Pokemon floated serenely to her starting place opposite Sceptile.

"Battle, start!"

"Shadow Ball Frosslass!" The enemy Pokemon brought its hands together, forming a ball of darkness between the upraised hands.

"Agility Sceptile!" As the Shadow Ball flew across the seperating distance, Sceptile sprinted to the side in a green blur, the creeping blackness of the Shadow Ball missing him and hurtling into Ash's platform. The impact shook the structure, causing Ash to fall down. "Solar Beam!" he cried out even as he fell.

"Ice Beam."

The bright light sped up Sceptile's attack. The energy gathered in a heartbeat and shot towards Frosslass, who responded in kind with her own beam attack. The two energies met with an explosion, neutralizing each other.

_Not good. Sceptile can't hold out against Ice attacks._ "Sceptile return!" Ash cried out, holding out his Pokeball. Sceptile looked surprised as it was recalled back to the on-deck position, but didn't fight it. "Charizard, go!" The fire Pokemon came out once more, but this time in a billow of smoke and fire, having released its frustration of being recalled so soon while inside of the ball. He looked up at Ash once, blew a brief puff of fire his way, and then glared at his opponent.

"Ice Beam Frosslass."

"Flamethrower!"

The opposite attacks hurtled across the field, meeting in another explosion, sending a resonating boom throughout the ring. Ash barely heard what Bill said over the boom.

"Shadow ball."

Ash could almost make out the point of glowing darkness through the smoke. "Charizard, Steel Wing!"

Charizard leaped into the air with a beat of his wings, clearing the smoke away from him. His wings began to glow a dark gray as he circled upwards into the air. He began to make his descent towards Frosslass when the Shadow Ball flew up to meet him. Charizard neatly barrel rolled out of the way and charged at Frosslass, beating his wings every so often to maintain course.

"Ice Shard."

Charizard wasn't twenty feet away when he was struck with chunks of ice. They weren't big, but they were many, and they threw off is aim. Instead of pulling up and hitting Frosslass, he pulled up and flew at a tree. Only a last minute adjustment prevented him from flying headlong into it, and instead sliced it down with his wing edge.

"Shadow Ball."

Once more, Frosslass gathered energy into a growing point of darkness. Charizard flew around the ring and hovered momentarily near Ash. "Fly at it and use Flamethrower," Ash whispered. Charizard nodded and, with a great wing stroke, flew at the Frosslass. As soon as she threw her Shadow Ball, Charizard spit out a Flamethrower. The two attacks met each other in a flash of light and smoke. But that didn't stop Charizard. He flew straight through the smoke and charged Frosslass.

"Seismic Toss!" Ash commanded. Charizard guessed at the attack even before Ash commanded it. He took the Frosslass into a his arms and flew the two of them straight up. He flipped over, and proceeded to fly straight down. At the last instant, Charizard let go of Frosslass and pulled up from the dive, belly skimming over the grass. Frosslass dove straight into the unforgiving ground, sending up chunks of sod and soil, making a small crater.

"Frosslass is unable to battle," Jacky declared once more, emotionless still.

Bill recalled his Pokemon once more. "That's two for two Ash," he said conversationally, pulling out his last Pokeball. "Are you going to change the terrain?"

Ash shook his head. "No, I'll keep it as is." He was feeling pretty good about himself. Here he was, winning two bouts two in a row. Now he had only to beat this last one. Ash let himself smile cockily. "I'm ready whenever you are," he said when Charizard flew back to his position, hovering in the air.

Bill also smiled. "I'll bet you are." He threw out his final Pokemon. "Walrein, go!"

The large blue Pokemon came from its ball with a majestic grace, letting out a breath, which seemed to almost fog in the air. It lowered its head and snorted in Charizard's direction, glaring belligerently at the flying Pokemon.

"Battle, start!"

"Flamethrower Charizard!"

Bill smiled exuberantly and shouted "Ice Beam Walrein!" He was showing more emotion now that he was down to his last Pokemon, and the excitement seemed to set his blood boiling with energy and enthusiasm.

The two attacks met in the center of the ring, but instead of neutralizing each other, the Ice Beam continued on, extinguishing the Flamethrower as it went.

"Dodge Charizard!" Ash yelled, taken by surprise at the power of the attack. Charizard beat his wings and flew straight up. The Ice Beam was fast, though, and nicked his foot as he tried to dodge, covering the foot in a block of ice. The suddenness of the cold and the extra weight startled Charizard, and he fell to the ground with a thump.

"Hydro Pump!" There was no way Charizard could even hope to dodge it. He was caught flat footed and on the ground. The blast of water struck him, throwing him backwards, out of the ring, and into the wall. When the deluge finally ceased, Charizard fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Charizard is unable to battle," Jacky said in her monotone.

"Charizard, return!" Ash recalled his fainted Pokemon to its ball. He eyed the Walrein with unease. Charizard was far from a weak Pokemon, and the Walrein took him out with only a few attacks. Sure, the type difference might have something to do with it, but still... That Walrein was insanely strong. Ash would have to tread carefully now. Pulling out Sceptile's ball, he glanced across at Bill before tossing it into the ring. "Careful Sceptile," he cautioned when it was out.

Bill nodded. "I'm going to change the terrain," he stated. "Let's make it overcast, and a pool with ice floes on my side, and ice on Ash's side.

Jacky changed the ring to specifications. Walrein sunk under the water, popping its head up after a second, blowing water out of its nose. Sceptile looked warily at the clouds covering the light, as did Ash. Solar Beam was out of the question now.

"Battle, start!"

"Ice Beam Walrein!" The walrus Pokemon shot its frigid attack at Sceptile before Bill even finished the command.

"Agility!" Ash shouted a split second later. Sceptile dashed out of the way not a moment to soon, the Ice Beam flying past him and into Ash's platform, covering a huge portion of it in ice.

"Surf, now!" Walrein started to swim forward, a huge swell of water forming up under it. Then the swell passed it, continuing forward and growing exponentially, charging the ice covered portion of the arena. The now giant wave towered over the ring, curling forward to crash down on Sceptile.

"Leaf Blade!" Sceptile charged the wave, arm blades glowing and growing. Putting in an extra burst of speed, Sceptile jumped straight into the towering wave. Instead of being crushed, though, Sceptile cut his way through the wave with the Leaf Blade, water spraying outwards before his attack. The wave didn't even slow him as he shot towards Walrein.

"Sheer Cold." The command was barely audible, but Ash heard it. And his eyes grew wide in shock.

Walrein glowed blue for a moment. Then there was a burst of freezing air released from the Pokemon in all directions. Not a light, gentle breeze, but an arctic gale. The force of the wind caught Sceptile and launched him backwards onto the ice covered portion of the ring. Barely, he caught his footing, stopping his backward movement, but even then he couldn't move forward. It was all he could do to stay still. But that wasn't even the attack. Now, a sphere of blue energy expanded from around Walrein. Everything the energy touched froze. The water around it became solid ice as the wall of blue closed on Sceptile. It was over in an instant. Sceptile was touched, and froze into a block of ice.

"Sceptile is unable to battle." And just like that, it was two wins to two wins.

"I got to give it to you Ash," Bill said from his side of the ring. "You've put up a good fight. But, you can't hope to stand up against Walrein. He's as old as I am, and stronger than almost everything I've come across. Actually, only one Pokemon has ever beaten my Walrein, and that Pokemon was trained by the best trainer I've ever met."

Ash called his Sceptile back to his ball. He had never been unsure of this battle until now. This Walrein was almost unbelievable. In almost no time at all, it had knocked out two of Ash's strongest Pokemon. He took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. Once he had calmed, he looked back across at Bill. Two of his strongest, yes. But not THE strongest.

"I hear you Bill," Ash said. "But we're about to change that count from one, to two." Ash looked down at Pikachu, who had been sitting quietly at Ash's feet until then. "You ready?" he asked.

Pikachu grinned up at him. "Pika!" With that, Pikachu jumped down into the ring.

Bill looked at his newest opponent. "I don't know what you're thinking son," he said to Ash, "But this isn't the way to go. You're idea is right, you need to go with an electric type. But as far as electric types go, Pikachus are towards the bottom when it comes to strength. Just give the match, and I won't have to hurt your friend."

"You may be right about other Pikachus," Ash responded. "But not MY Pikachu."

Bill sighed, almost regretfully. "So be it. Jacky, restore the field to previous specifications, change the weather to hail."

The water that Walrein had frozen liquefied back to normal, and the overcast clouds became darker. Pea sized bits of ice began falling from the clouds, pelting the water and ice and Pokemon.

"Battle, start!"

"Walrein, Surf!" Bill commanded imperiously. He seemed impervious to the hail falling on him, as if it didn't exist. Walrein made his wave again, sending it at the little yellow mouse.

"Volt Tackle through the wave!" Ash shouted, struggling to make himself heard over the roar of the hail clashing on the ground and the wave crashing towards the ice.

Pikachu heard him. Launching into a full on sprint, Pikachu surrounded himself in electricity, more than he had before. The cascading flow of electricity scorched the ice as he ran, picking up speed as the wave towered towards him. "Pika!" he yelled as he reached the end of the ice shelf, jumping straight into the falling wave. The water sizzled as the electricity came in contact with it, sending up steam as he passed through it. The wave crashed on the ice, but Pikachu made it through, landing on one of the ice floes on Bills side of the arena.

"Ice Beam Walrein!" Almost before Pikachu landed on the floating ice, Walrein launched its attack. The blast of energy flew through the air towards the electric Pokemon, sure to freeze him solid.

"Quick Attack, jump to the other floes!"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped to the next floe, quicker than the eye could follow. The Ice Beam struck where Pikachu used to be, freezing the water around the ice, making it larger.

"Again!" Bill and Ash shouted at the same time. Pikachu jumped, Walrein missed. This happened twice more, jumping out of the way of an oncoming Ice Beam right before it hit, freezing the water and making the floes larger. Then...

"Thunderbolt!"

"Ice Beam!"

The Thunderbolt hurtled across the ring, meeting the opposing Ice Beam. The two jagged energies met with a glow of red, and then an explosion. Smoke covered the arena, followed by an icy wind laced with stray static charges, clearing the smoke from the field.

"Quick Attack!" Ash commanded. Pikachu put on a burst of speed straight at Walrein, not veering in the slightest.

"Hydro Pump!" Bill yelled. Walrein took a deep breath, and then shot his torrential attack at the oncoming Pikachu. And at the last minute, Pikachu jumped to one of the larger ice floes, and then jumped again at Walrein.

"Iron Tail!" Pikachu whipped his tail around, still moving at blurring speeds. The attack caught Walrein square on the head, sending him sprawling sideways through the water before sinking from sight.

All was silent for a moment, save for the constant falling of the hail. Ash could see now that it was hurting Pikachu, if only slightly. Then, Bill broke the silence. "Surf," he said, calmly.

Ash couldn't see where the attack was coming from . Then he realized it was coming from directly underneath Pikachu. "Get out of the way!" Ash yelled, but he couldn't see how. The wave grew and picked up the ice that Pikachu was on. He had no where to run, and it was too far to jump to another floe. Ash watched in stunned silence as the wave rose, and then fell on the iced half of the ring, smashing Pikachu and the floe he was on to the ground. Pikachu struggled to his feet after the wave recessed, shivering from the water, being pelted by the rain.

"Pikachu!" he yelled across from the podium. "Pikachu, come back!" But Pikachu shook his head stubbornly. "Why?!" Ash yelled. "It's okay, we'll try again." But Pikachu still refused. Instead, he limped back to where he started the match. And it was then that Ash heard Pikachu. It was very low, very quiet. But he heard it. A long, drawn out, constant, 'Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.' Ash looked at his long time friend for a moment, and then nodded. "Alright," he said.

Bill looked at the little mouse Pokemon. It stood there, but just barely. It looked determined, ready to fight this to the end. Bill nodded his head in respect to the electric Pokemon. He was impressed that it had even made it this long. "Walrein!" he called out. The walrus Pokemon poked its head above the water. "Jump up on one of the floes." Obediantly, the Pokemon jumped onto a floe and faced the Pikachu. "Hey Ash!" he called out across the ring, over the hail falling. "What do you way we finish this now, eh?"

Ash smiled, nodding. "I say that's a good idea."

"Then push the shield button on your platform. I'd hate for you to get caught in Walrein's Sheer Cold attack."

Ash looked at the platform, and found the button. He reached down, pushing it. "Okay," he said, "But you should put yours on too. I'd hate for you to get caught in Pikachu's Thunderbolt."

Bill laughed. "Kid, I admire your spirit. But I've seen your Thunderbolt. It's strong, but not strong enough." Still, he pushed the button. And, though they didn't see it, Jacky activated a shield of her own.

"Walrein," Bill said. "It's been a while since we've come across an opponent like Ash. Let's send him out with a bang. Once again, but bigger this time. Sheer Cold!" The arctic gale returned in full force, blasting Pikachu back a pace. But, he held his ground.

Ash couldn't hear Pikachu over the gale now. Then, it changed. "Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa--" Pikachu was saying, louder now, so that he could be heard over the gale. Electricity sputtered from his cheeks. Then from his sides. His tail. His feet. His entire body was being shrouded in electricity. He was digging deep now, into his electricity. The yellow energy swathed him, charges hitting the ice, scorching it, melting it, becoming bigger and thicker, reaching further. Before long, ropes of electricity were shooting from the little yellow mouse to hit the ground ten feet away.

And then it came.

The wave of blue energy expanded from Walrein, slowly, but gaining speed. Once again, the water froze solid as it passed, marching towards Pikachu.

"It's time, buddy!" Ash yelled over the hail and waves and wind. "Cut loose!"

Pikachu was small. But, he was strong. Stronger than he should have been. And with the urging of his trainer, he let loose everything that he had held back until then.

"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Electricity hurtled from Pikachu straight at the oncoming attack, dozens of tendrils of power, thick as Ash's arm, flying through the air with speed and power, like lightning bolts thrown by Zeus to smite those that had displeased him.

The two powerful attacks met in the middle of the ring. The Sheer Cold a relentless wall of power, Thunderbolt a hundred stabbing lances of energy, each battling for supremacy over the other, and neither giving an inch.

Bill stared in amazement, mouth agape. A Thunderbolt, holding back Sheer Cold. A Thunderbolt, from a Pikachu. He stared at Pikachu, and then smiled. And then, he laughed. "Hahahahaha! I love this!" he yelled out. "This is when you know you're living!"

Sheer Cold met Thunderbolt with equal power. And then, stunningly, they were unequal. The wall of blue energy shattered, sending a fresh wave of freezing wind around the entire arena, pushing everything backwards. Pikachu slid to the edge of the ring, but didn't stop his attack. Now, with nothing to resist it, Pikachu's Thunderbolt zeroed in on its target, and struck.

The sound was deafening, like a hundred claps of thunder sounding at once. Steam flew into the air, thicker than pea soup, and the entire room was silent. Ash couldn't see anything outside of the little bubble like shield that had protected him from everything.

The silence was ended with the sound of fans turning on. The steam lifted, revealing the results of the final round. Pikachu stood at the base of Ash's platform, shivering, and standing only through sheer force of will. Walrein lay at the bottom of the now empty pool, unconscious, but alive. And the entire room was covered in scorch marks where the Thunderbolts had hit. Pikachu, even in the midst of battle, had controlled his powerful attack enough that only what was needed to win struck Walrein, and the rest found other targets.

"Walrein is unable to battle," Jacky declared. And, for the first time in the match, she let emotion color her voice. Awe. Fear. Surprise. She looked at Ash and Pikachu as if they were angels descended from heaven. "Ash is the winner."

-------------------

ANII: So. Hi. Just so you know, I hadn't forgotten about this. I just couldn't figure out how to write it well. To long, I know. I should have done this months ago. But, it's here now. I will take any scolding my readers feel I deserve. Because I feel like I deserve whatever is dished out to me. I mean, it isn't really fair to make you guys wait... I don't even know how long it's been now.

Just as side notes, I feel I should express some feelings that I have about this piece. The Tom battle was, in my opinion, dull and uninspired. But it had to be done. The Bill Battle, particularly the Walrein Pikachu face off at the end, however, has been in my head since the end of the last chapter. But I just couldn't get myself to write it out properly. Anyways. Let me know what you think.

~Penguin King


	12. Perspectives

Authors Note: So. I recently re-read all the chapters that I've put up so far, and I've noticed a trend. It seems like every time I post a new chapter, I give some sort of lame excuse as to why it's been so long since the last chapter. So, I'm going to try and do better. And stop giving excuses. I'll do my best, and hope that my best is turning out a chapter closer to once a week or every two weeks than once every two months. Like this one.

Also, thank you all for your reviews! I never expected to get over a hundred reviews on my story, and it makes me feel happy inside :D

And now, I'm going to change the pace a little. The last two chapters were action/battle oriented. This one is going to change up a bit and go back towards plot movement, back story, and character development. We will finally learn more about Ash's dad (who's first name will be revealed in this chapter!), Echo, Patrick and Jane, and the kidnapping victims. Wow, now that I list it out, it looks like it will be a long chapter. Better get to it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the brand names, books, corporations, etc. that may be mentioned in the below story. The overall plot and non-canon characters belong to me however.

**ASH**

Ash, Bill, and Jacky all sat in the waiting room of the small Pokecenter. It wasn't the Cerulean Pokecenter, but a private one in the building, reserved for the use of guests and occupants. Bill and Jacky were over on one side of the room, huddled together and talking quietly to each other, Jacky in shocked tones and Bill in calm ones. Ash couldn't hear what they were saying, and at the moment he didn't really care. He was more concerned with his Pokemon at the moment, being cared for by Nurse Joy and a veritable army of Chansey. He was waiting, and nothing was worse to Ash than waiting.

Eventually, Nurse Joy walked out of the back room. "Everyone's going to be fine," she announced happily to Bill and Ash. "They're all resting, and Sceptile is being thawed out next to the heater as we speak. They should all be ready to leave by this evening. Just make sure that they get plenty of rest and don't overexert themselves for the next couple days."

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," Bill said with a smile. "We'll just wait out here for them, if that's alright."

"Of course it's alright," Nurse Joy said with a smile, before turning and disappearing back through the door again.

Ash let out a sigh of relief, leaning back in his chair to look up at the ceiling.

"That's an impressive Pokemon you have there, Ash."

Ash tilted his head to look at Bill, who had stood up and was making his way across the room to sit next to him. The young trainer grinned and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Pikachu is pretty amazing isn't he?"

"Amazing doesn't even begin to describe it." Bill took his seat and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, chin on his folded hands. He tilted his head sideways so that he could look at Ash. "By all rights, that Pikachu should be in a giant block of ice, or dead from the amount of electricity it was using."

Ash shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"Let me put it in a different way," Bill said, trying to explain better. "Let's put some electric Pokemon onto a scale for you, with one being incredibly weak, OK?"

Ash nodded, trying to picture the scale in his head. "Let's start with the weakest electric Pokemon out there, Pichu. Let's give it a rank of, oh, 35 in terms of electrical power. That is a very low number. It's attacks will never be very strong. But, that's to be expected from what we call a 'baby' Pokemon." Ash nodded. So far, he was following Bill. "After Pichu comes Pachirisu at 45. Again, nothing spectacular. Let's jump ahead on the list a bit, though, to show you the upper limits of electric Pokemon. The top three strongest electric Pokemon are Electivire, with about a 123, Zapdos, with a single recording of 125, and Magnezone, with an average of 130. Now, these three are out of the norm when it comes to Electric Pokemon. Zapdos is extremely rare, and is not only strong, but fast, and with good defenses. Magnezone and Electivire, on the other hand, are strong, but slow."

Ash nodded his head. "Yeah, that makes sense. They trade off speed for power."

Bill smiled. "Right. Electivire is also a special case, in that it is stronger with physical attacks like Thunderpunch, than with special attacks like Thunderbolt. It falls in a special category with Shinx, Luxio, and Luxray. But that's besides the point. Now, you know where Pichu stands, with a 35. A Raichu, on average, sits around a 90. Where do you think a Pikachu stands on the scale?"

Ash thought about it for a little bit. "Well," Ash said after a moment, "I really don't know. Pikachu has beaten Raichu before, so that would put him above 90. But at the same time, Raichu are supposed to be stronger than Pikachu."

Bill shrugged. "Make a guess for me."

Ash thought for a moment longer. "About a 65, I'd guess."

"Actually, Pikachu's sit at 55. They are, in fact, just above Pachirisu in terms of power. A normal Pikachu is the third weakest electric Pokemon."

Ash blinked a couple times, thinking about that for a second.

"Your Pikachu, Ash, I would have to say, on an offhanded guess, is over 170*." Bill said this in a perfectly serious tone of voice.

Ash blinked a couple more times, not knowing how to respond. "Wait," he finally said. "You're saying that Pikachu, MY Pikachu, is not only stronger than the average Pikachu, but stronger than the average ANYTHING electric?"

"I'm saying," Bill said, "That the highest recorded power of ANY Pokemon was at the Battle Tower a couple years ago. It would appear and disappear, but when it appeared it was at 180. Before that, the highest recorded power was from an Alakazam, coming in at 152."

"Then," Ash started, "Where does that put your Walrein?"

Bill grinned. "Walrein's only at, maybe, 106."

"That doesn't make any sense. If it was at 106, and Pikachu is over 170, shouldn't Pikachu have won easily?"

"If battles were just comparing numbers, yes. But it's more than that. I fought that Alakazam, once, with Walrein. Knocked it out."

"You're confusing me."

"It's strategy, move sets, and terrain just as much as stats or anything else. The trainer was cocky, let me fight in my choice of terrain. So, I picked one that was advantageous to Walrein. On land he may be clumsy, but nothing can catch him in the water. And there are also move powers as well."

"Move power?"

"Yeah. Ice Beam comes at a 95. So does Thunderbolt and Flamethrower. Psychic ranks at a 90."

Ash nodded. "What about that move you used, Sheer Cold?"

"Sheer Cold is a special case. It's unranked. There are three attacks that are unranked, and will automatically knock out your Pokemon, if they hit. Sheer Cold, Fissure, and Horn Drill." Bill waited for Ash to pick up on what he was saying.

Finally, he did. "Wait, so Pikachu's Thunderbolt outranked an unranked attack?"

Bill nodded once. "I don't think you can call that a 'Thunderbolt', or even a 'Thunder', but yeah."

"Wow."

"Wow is right. It's never happened before. You, my friend, have just made history."

Ash took a deep breath and leaned forward, speechless.

"I'll let that sink in for a bit. For now, I have to hold up my end of the bargain. I owe you some answers, don't I?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I need to think up my questions first, though."

"Take your time. Let me start with stuff I was going to tell you anyways, alright?"

Ash cocked his head to the side. "Like what?"

"Like why I asked your last name. Like why Tom was acting funny." Bill leaned closer. "Like the only other trainer that beat my Walrein."

Ash looked at Bill funny. "What do any of those things have to do with each-" He stopped mid-sentence, eyes growing wide. "No," he whispered.

"Yes," Bill responded. "Let me tell you about your dad. Let me tell you about Liam Ketchum..."

**LIAM KETCHUM**

"All right everyone, let's call it a day." Liam turned around, looking at his traveling companions. It was evening now in Sinnoh. The day before they had landed the stolen plane somewhere on Mt. Coronet, and had made their way down to the foot of the eastern side of the mountain. They woke up early the next morning, and walked all day. If he was any judge of direction, they were only another days march away from Celestic Town.

Everyone was out of breath and sweating, swaying unsteadily on their feet. Daisy Waterflower promptly fell face first onto the grass. "Oww," she mumbled, but remained motionless on the ground. "I'm never leaving Cerulean again. I can't feel my legs."

"It's not like we wanted to leave in the first place, Daisy," Lily panted as she sat down next to her immobile sister. "We were kidnapped, remember?"

"Don't remind me," Violet responded, leaning against a tree, catching her breath. "I don't want to remember. Although, as far as kidnappings go, it was pretty civil."

"Oh, so you've been kidnapped before?" Lola Slate snapped. "And this was civil in comparison? Being separated from everyone and everything you love? Your Pokemon taken to only God knows where, and you being flown halfway across the world, and you find it CIVIL?" Her voice rose to a shriek towards the end of this. "If I could move I would slap you, you insolent little-"

"Lola, that's enough," Flint Slate cut in. He stumbled over to where the woman was sitting. "We're back together now, and that's all that matters."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Flint!" was all she managed to say before bursting into tears. Which set off a chain reaction of crying and hugging from the rest of the Slate children, with the exception of Forrest, who just joined in the hugging.

Liam groaned. He had been hoping they were done with the crying, but he had just been proven wrong. He took a deep breath and sighed, eying everyone again. The Waterflower sisters were about to drop where they stood. Well, the other two were. Max, Forrest, and the other children seemed to be alright, having the boundless energy of young people. Lola and Flint weren't in much better condition than the Waterflowers. Norman had kept up fine, but Caroline and Johanna had struggled, unused to the exercise. And, surprisingly enough, Deliah was perfectly fine.

_What a woman I married,_ Liam thought to himself as he set down his pack. He pulled out his Pokeballs and released all of his Pokemon to help him set up camp. "Alright, guys," he said to his assembled friends. "You know what to do." They all nodded and went about their normal tasks for setting up camp. Scyther disappeared into the surrounding forest to gather firewood, while Infernape took to the trees to collect Berries. Electivire, Gallade, and Weavile went about clearing out areas to sleep, and Leafeon went to find water.

Liam set himself to making a fire pit and starting to prepare dinner. With all of the Pokemon helping, everything was ready in a remarkably quick time, with a relaxed efficiency that spoke of having done the same tasks over and over. Even having to prepare for more people than usual didn't add much time to the wait. In no time at all, everyone was huddled around the fire eating a bowl of stew. "So," Liam said into the silence. "How is everyone doing?" As one, everyone turned to glare at him. "Alright, stupid question."

"Um, excuse me?" Lily asked, raising her hand in the air like she was still in school, waiting to be called on. "I have a question for you."

"Alright, what can I do for you miss..."

"Waterflower. Lily Waterflower."

Liam smiled and nodded once. "What's your question, Lily?"

"Well," she began, "I think I speak for most of us when I ask, who exactly are you?"

Liam took another spoonful of his stew. "I'm sorry," he said, putting down his bowl. "In all the rush, I never had a chance to properly introduce myself." He stood up and looked at everyone once in the eye. "My name is Liam Ketchum, husband of Deliah, father of Ash, and agent of Echo." He took a bow, smiling crookedly. "And, your savior."

All was quiet. And then it was interrupted by a laugh. Liam turned towards the source of the laugh. "Damn it, Norman, can't you just give me my moment?"

"I'm sorry," Norman chuckled. "I couldn't help it. Please, go on."

Liam sat back down next to his wife, frowning. "You ruined it now. Jerk."

"I'm sorry, everyone," Norman said, addressing the group. "Liam's a bit of a drama queen. He likes to make big impressions."

Liam muttered something under his breath and rolled his eyes.

"Oh relax you big crybaby," Norman scolded Liam. "You'll get your chance to talk."

Daisy raised her hand next. "Um, yeah, like, I'm Daisy. Do you know why we were kidnapped? And by who?"

Liam nodded. "Yes, yes I do." Liam picked up his bowl and took another spoonful. "My former best friend kidnapped you, because he doesn't like Ash."

"Oh boy," Norman muttered under his breath.

Liam glared at Norman until Deliah patted his knee. "Just ignore him, dear," she said softly. "We've got time. Why don't you give us a little entertainment with the meal?"

He took another spoonful and set the bowl down again. "So," he said to everyone. "Do you want to hear a little story?" The little kids in the group perked up at this. "A story about a man, who started on a Pokemon journey, traveled the world, made friends, fell in love, and went on to do amazing things?" The children gathered closer, waiting to hear the story. "A story filled with action, romance, and a hint of tragedy.

"A story about me.

"As you know, my name is Liam Ketchum. I was born on the foothills of Mt. Silver, just inside the Johto region. When I was ten years old, I left my home to begin my Pokemon journey with Sneasel, who is Weavile now. That is the point where I will begin the story.

"Now,times were different back then than they are today. Granted, not so very different, but different nonetheless. Some of the things you know today, and the people you know today, weren't around. Of course, Nurse Joys across the world were the same, and Officer Jenny's too. And all the major gyms were in the same place too. But the leaders were different, the people were different. And it was amazing.

"Now, as I'm sure most of you know, traveling isn't quite the same when you're by yourself. You get lonely out there without people to talk to. Friends are paramount, to stave off the boredom. Fortunately, it wasn't too long until I met a friend. I was traveling on the road between Cherrygrove and Violet Town when I heard someone crying by their self. I followed the sound of the crying...

**FLASHBACK**

"Hey," a young Liam said, wandering around in the tall grass, Sneasel at his side. "Where are you? Are you okay?"The sound of the crying cut off abruptly, and there was a ruffle in the grass. "Hello?" he called out again, walking through the tall grass to the moving patch.

Parting the grass cautiously, he found a girl, about his age, sitting in the grass, huddled in a ball. "Are you okay?" Liam asked again, concerned.

The girl sniffled. "No," she finally said. "I'm lost, and I don't know where to go, and there are icky bug Pokemon all over the place, and I'm scared, and...and..and...WAHHHHH!" She burst into tears again.

This was way out of Liam's area of expertise. He had no idea how to even begin comforting a girl. He crouched down next to her and patted her back. "Um, it's okay. Everything will be, er, fine."

The girl stopped crying again and looked over at him, tears in the corner of her eyes. "Really? You think so?"

Liam smiled and nodded. "Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I'm going to be a Pokemon Master, isn't that right Sneasel?"

The ice Pokemon looked at Liam skeptically, before finally giving a slow nod.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Liam mumbled at the Pokemon, rolling his eyes. "You're a true friend."

The girl giggled at the exchange. "You're kind of funny," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes before standing up. "Do you think you can show me how to get home?"

Liam stood up and nodded. "Absolutely I can. I have a map in my bag, and I have an awesome sense of direction." At that, Sneasel burst out laughing, rolling on the ground in hysterics. "No one asked you!" Liam shouted at the black Pokemon. He turned back to the girl. "Where do you live?"

"Violet town," she said, watching the Sneasel recover from its fit of laughter.

"No way, that's where I'm going!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm going to challenge the gym leader there and get the badge. Me and Sneasel are going to get it easy." Liam smiled at the girl. "By the way, My name is Liam. What's yours?"

"Deliah," she said shyly.

"Well, follow me Deliah," Liam said, starting to walk through the grass back towards the road. "And don't worry about any bug Pokemon. Me and Sneasel will take care of them too."

"Sneasel must be really strong to be able to do so much," Deliah said shyly, looking at the small Pokemon. "I mean, it is kind of small."

"Yeah, she's a little on the small side, even for Sneasel, but she's really fast, isn't that right?"

As if to prove the statement, Sneasel zoomed ahead of them, kicking up a wind with her speed, and stopped a hundred yards away, leaning against a tree, waiting for them to catch up. Liam rolled his eyes. "Sneasel likes to show off whenever she can," he told Deliah.

"No," Deliah said. "She's just proud of herself."

Liam shrugged, not really knowing how to continue. They walked for a moment in awkward silence. "So," Liam started. "Do you have any Pokemon?"

**ASH**

"The first time I saw your dad, he was competing in the Silver Conference," Bill was saying. "He had collected all of the Johto badges, and wanted to make a name for himself in the Pokemon world. I was an observer, watching all the trainers."

"You weren't competing?" Ash asked.

Bill shook his head. "No. By that time, I was done with competitive battling. I was there as a talent scout, for the organization I work for. I'll tell you about that later. It was my job to find talented trainers who might be interested in a specific line of work. Your dad had a flair about him and the way he battled. He drew the eye, and made you want to root for him. And most of the time, he found some impossible way to pull out a win. In short, he was the kind of trainer I was looking for. He made it into the top 16, and onto my short list of trainers to watch. For a trainer just starting, that's very impressive. From that point on, whenever Liam's name came up, we had people watching him."

"Who, exactly, was watching him?"

"The group is called Echo," Bill told him. "We're a psuedo-government, paramilitary organization. We do the things that the military and the police aren't allowed to do. A lot of it could be considered 'illegal,' but most of the politicians support what we do, and keep us quiet and out of trouble. Occasionally we'll have someone who doesn't like how we handle things and try to use us as the bad guy in their campaigns. They don't usually get elected.

"Anyway, we were watching him. He was still untested, still new, but he had a lot of promise. His Sneasel was impossibly fast, and he was an adaptive battler, never sticking to something if it didn't work. He was resourceful. But most of all, he had something to prove, to himself, and to someone else."

"Who?" Ash asked.

Bill smiled at Ash. "Nothing spurs a man to greater heights than having a woman by his side," he answered. "Isn't that right, Ash?"

"Huh?"

"Let me ask you something. How hard do you try at anything, if its just you working on it by yourself."

"I work pretty hard."

"Now how hard would you work at the same thing if, say, Misty was watching you?"

"Oh," Ash said, understanding, blushing a little.

"Yeah. Your dad was trying to impress the girl who would go on to become your mom. The two of them actually met very early on his journey. But that's a story for another time. In the Silver Conference that year, there were a total of four names that made it onto my list. You've probably heard of a few of them. Your father, Liam. Koga, the Gym Leader, who was apprenticed under Pryce at that time. Bruno, the Elite Four member, just starting. And last, a young trainer named Giovanni Bugiardini. Liam and Giovanni figured to be each others rival. They both had very different battling styles, and different training philosophies. Liam lost to Giovanni, who then lost in the next round. Their paths, though, crossed each others time and time again. For a while though, it was the same path."

**LIAM**

"That was a bitter pill I had to take that day. That wasn't the first time I had fought Giovanni, like I told you earlier. It wasn't the last time either. But it was the first time I lost to him. I went into the battle cocky and assured. I figured he would be the pushover he had been to me before, the small hop to the next round. I was dead wrong.

"I was inconsolable for the rest of the day. Just ask Deliah, she was there. My defeat made me take a long, hard look at myself. I asked myself what I was going to do next. Do I continue? Do I give up? Will I overcome the defeat? Obviously, I did, but for a while I wasn't sure. My world had been turned upside down. But I gained respect for Giovanni that day."

Liam paused for a moment there, reminiscing the past. He shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. "Sorry about that."

"No worries, dear," Deliah said, patting his knee again.

Violet took the brief pause to ask a question. "What does the past have to do with what's going on now?"

"Weren't you listening?" Daisy asked her sister. "His old best friend is behind all this. He's telling us about him, and how he went from friend to enemy."

"Oooohhh. Okay. So who is it?"

"I'm thinking it's this Giovanni guy, cuz-"

Liam cleared his throat. "Hi. How you doing? Can I tell the story please?"

The two girls looked shamefaced. "Sorry," they mumbled.

"It's okay. So," Liam started again. "I had made up my mind on what I was going to do. I was going to keep traveling, and get stronger..."

**FLASHBACK**

"So what are you going to do now, Liam?" Deliah asked quietly.

Liam took off his cap and rubbed his hands through his hair. "Well, you know, there's Hoenn not to far away. I was thinking I'd go there. You know, meet new people, fight new gyms, compete in their League. Kind of like starting new, where no-one knows me."

"Oh," Deliah said, sounding disheartened. "What about Kanto? That's practically next door."

Liam shook his head slowly. "No, that's too close. I want to go abroad. REALLY abroad. Go to Hoenn and Sinnoh, and save Kanto for last before trying in Johto one more time."

"Oh." Deliah was quiet for a while.

"Deliah, what's wrong?"

She looked up and smiled. "Nothing's wrong. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun out there."

Liam was confused. "What do you mean? You'll be having fun too. You are coming with me, right?"

Deliah shook her head, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "No, I won't be. My parents won't let me go that far from home."

Liam didn't know what to say. "Oh," he said finally, lamely. He was torn. Would he go away, and leave behind his best friend, or would he stay and change all his plans. "Why won't they let you go?"

"I don't know. They're parents. They don't give me a reason."

Liam thought for a moment, and then put his cap back on his head. "But Kanto's not to far?"

Deliah smiled faintly. "Nope."

"Alright then. That decides it. We're going to Kanto."

"Really?" Deliah said, joy coloring her voice.

Liam smiled. "Really."

"Mind if I come along?"

Startled, Liam whirled around. It was Giovanni. "You're going to Kanto too?" Liam asked dubiously.

He nodded. "Yeah. I hear there's some pretty good trainers out that way. Plus, it's a different League, and different Gyms." He shrugged. "If I learned anything, it's that I still have a long way to go before I'm the best."

Liam nodded. "You and me both."

"So, mind if I join you?"

Liam looked to Deliah.

"Sure you can come," Deliah said with a smile. "The more the merrier."

**LIAM**

"...And so the three of us traveled through Kanto. Me and Giovanni would flip a coin to decide who would battle the Gym Leader first, and then we'd alternate challenges. I remember, we stayed in one city for almost a month before we beat the leader."

"Which one?" Norman asked.

"It was this older guy up north. Some of you probably heard of him." Liam smirked at the Waterflower sisters. "His name was Tigridia."

The girls gasped. "You fought gramps!" Daisy exclaimed.

"And you both beat him?" Violet yelled.

Liam nodded. "Like I said, it took about a month before we left Cerulean. How is he, anyways?"

"He's doing fine," Lily said. "We talk to him twice a month. Since he retired from the gym, he spends his time traveling around. Last we heard, he was in Hoenn somewhere."

"Really? I may have to track him down one of these days. Anyways, he was actually our last gym badge. And a month in one place puts all sorts of strain on relationships. It was then that I found out about 'the kiss'..."

**FLASHBACK**

Liam slammed Giovanni against the wall. "What the hell?" Liam yelled , holding onto Giovanni's collar. "How could you do this to me?"

Giovanni pried Liams hands off of his shirt. "Back off," Giovanni replied. "What's the big deal anyways? It was just a kiss."

"Yeah, a kiss with the girl that you KNEW I liked."

"And you were going to make a move...when, exactly?"

Liam just glared at him. "I was going to after I won the League."

Giovanni rolled his eyes. "Do you really think that was going to happen? We barely beat this last gym leader. How do you think we're going to fare against the rest of the challengers? Against the Elite Four?"

"We won't know until we go up against them."

"Be realistic, Liam." Giovanni started walking around him, like a tiger circling its prey. "We still have miles to go before we stand a chance against them. They're in a whole different league than us. We could be training for another ten years before we're even close to their level. Are you really going to wait that long?"

Liam continued his glare. "Just watch," he whispered. "I'm going to win this time around."

Giovanni laughed once. "You really think that?"

Liam nodded.

Giovanni shrugged his shoulders. "Fine. You worry about your Pokemon, and I'll worry about lonely little Deliah." He started walking away. "And who knows?" he said over his shoulder. "Maybe next time I'll get more than a kiss."

Liam watched Giovanni as he walked away, saying nothing. He finally turned to the wall and punched it. Hard. The pain was reassuring. And it was a distraction from the pain in his heart.

**LIAM**

"Giovanni left the next morning," Deliah whispered into the silence. "Liam and I went to the Indigo Plateau Conference together, but it was...awkward. We didn't speak much, and when we did, it usually ended in a fight." She looked over at her husband. "I remember that I cried myself to sleep almost every night, thinking how much of an idiot I was."

Liam pulled her into a hug. "No, I was the one who was wrong. I was just being jealous and mad, when I didn't have a right to be."

Deliah closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. "Anyways, that was the past. And it's not even the worst thing that happened."

Liam furrowed his brow, looking down at her.

"I'll remind you when it gets closer. Continue."

"So," Liam said carefully. "I went to the Indigo League Conference...

**ASH**

"It was easy to keep track of Liam and Giovanni after the Silver Conference. They traveled together all throughout Kanto."

Ash nodded, listening to the story.

"They stumbled a little towards the end, at the Cerulean Gym, but they made it through. They had a little falling out though, just before the Conference. My intel at the time had no clue as to why, but I found out later that it was because of your Mom.

"Then the conference came around. Your father and Giovanni faced each other in the quarter-finals. This time, Liam won. It was a spectacular battle, though. Liam actually made it through the first of the Elite Four at the time, before he was beaten."

Bill paused there.

"What happened next?" Ash asked, engrossed in the story.

"Well," Bill said. "Then they all went separate ways. Giovanni stayed in Kanto, traveling from city to city and training with anyone who was willing. Liam went to Hoenn, trying for that Conference, and Deliah went home. As far as I know, they didn't keep in touch.

**LIAM**

"Basically, I was being immature. I was four Badges in before I realized how much of an idiot I was being. The gym leader was going on about the fire of passion, how the flames continued to burn even if you weren't there to tend them. The second after I got that badge, I went to a Pokecenter and called up Deliah."

Deliah picked up the story there. "I remember, my mom picked up the phone then. There you were, covered in so much ash and soot you looked like a chimney sweep, and there was a little flame smoldering on your cap. She looked over at me and said 'This was the Liam you've been talking so much about?' And I said 'He looks better when he's clean.' We talked for hours that night. My dad was rather upset about the phone bill that month, as I recall. Every time you were in a Pokecenter, you'd call and tie up the phone for the rest of the night."

Liam shrugged. "Yeah, well, what can I say? I was in love, even if I didn't know it. Anyways, the next day I started to try and get back in contact with Giovanni. You know, make peace with him. About a week later, I finally managed it. We both apologized, and kept in touch. All in all, I was rather surprised on how smoothly it went over. So the three of us started to reconnect, reforming our old friendship. It was a funny thing, actually. Three people, in three regions, maintaining a long-distance friendship like that. Me in Hoenn, making my way through to the Ever Grande Conference. Giovanni in Kanto, making a name for himself as the trainer to beat."

"And me in Johto, learning how to do chores," Deliah chimed in. "As soon as my mom saw how much I liked you, she said to me 'Well, it looks like I'm going to have to start teaching you how to cook and clean and be a proper wife.'"

"She did not," Liam said in disbelief. "Your mom? She's the most feminist woman I've ever met."

"Hard to believe, right?"

Liam shook his head, chuckling. "Your mom's a crazy old woman," he said.

Norman cleared his throat, bringing Liam back to the story. "You were saying about the Ever Grande Conference?" he said.

"Right, the Ever Grande Conference..."

**ASH**

"Liam made his way through the Hoenn gyms pretty easily, and landed himself in the Ever Grande Conference. He was an old hand at this by now, and whisked through the competition. He had a bit of difficulty in the finals with another young man we were watching, Norman Haruka. But Liam won out, and fought through the Elite Four, and lost to the Champion by one attack. It was then that Echo first approached him."

**FLASHBACK**

Liam sat in the airport, waiting for his plane to come in. He held his cap in his hands, thinking about that last battle. Sneasel was asleep in the chair next to him, calmly breathing in, and out.

_Rest easy, friend,_ Liam thought. _We'll be back with more friends soon._ Not two seconds after the Conference was over, Liam had decided that he was going to surprise Deliah by visiting her in Johto. He was getting tired of the phone calls, and longed to see her in person again. _It won't be long now..._

A man sat down in the seat next to Liam. "That was some battle," the man said to Liam.

"Thanks," he responded, sounding lackluster. "I still lost though."

"Psh," the man snorted. "To the reigning champion of the last five years. And then only just. You should be proud of yourself."

"I should. I don't know. I'm just tired."

"What do you mean?" the man asked.

"I...It just..." Liam sighed. "I don't know."

"It feels like it's just the same stuff being repeated over and over again?" the man suggested. "Like even if you did win, nothing would really change? Like it wouldn't make any difference, no matter if you hold the title for one or twenty years?"

Liam looked over at the man. "Yeah," he said, surprised. "How did you know?"

"Because I used to be like you, not to long ago. I longed for something more than battling for a title. I wanted to fight for a cause."

The man had gone quiet. "So what did you do?" Liam finally asked.

He smiled. "I was approached by a man. He offered me a job. He told me what they did, and how they worked. He told me the rules that had to be followed, and the tasks I would be asked to do. And I took the job, and haven't looked back since."

Liam just watched the man for a long moment, his heart in his throat. "Oh," was all he said.

"So," the man stated. "I have a job opportunity for you, Liam. Would you be interested?"

Liam thought for a moment. "Maybe," he said after a while. "Do I have to make up my mind now?"

The man shook his head. "Nope. You have a couple days to think about it." He held out his hand to shake Liam's. "My name is Bill, and I'd like to talk to you about a group called Echo..."

**LIAM**

"Back then, the Echo training facilities were in the Sinnoh region. After I went to Johto, and spent some time with Deliah and Giovanni, who was in the area at the time, they whisked me off to the camp. It was the most brutal training I'd ever experienced. It was also there that I found the rest of the Pokemon that make up my team now."

"Not only that, but they only allowed you one, five minute phone call a week," Deliah interjected.

Liam laughed. "Yeah, I remember that. I'd split it between calling you and calling my mom, letting her know I was still alive. Ow! Deliah, you're squeezing my leg a little hard."

"Am I? Sorry."

"Oh. Now I know what you were talking about earlier."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I apologized to you for a whole month. I sent flowers and chocolates. I even went AWOL for a day and visited you. You still haven't forgiven me?"

Deliah sighed. "No, I've forgiven you. I just don't like thinking about it."

Lily was bubbling over with impatience. "What? What happened?"

**ASH**

"While Liam was training in Sinnoh, a new criminal organization had started to spring up in Kanto. They called themselves Team Rocket. They were doing fairly low level crimes, so we figured that it was the kind of thing for a new agent to try out, his first real mission. So we sent him to Kanto with the objectives of finding out about Team Rocket, and disabling any operatives he encountered."

"Team Rocket is that old?" Ash asked. "It doesn't seem like it."

"Well, that's because you've only really come up against two operatives, and them when they were first starting in the organization," Bill explained.

"Okay," Ash said, listening to the rest of the story.

"So, after a while, Liam finally found a fresh track of the people he was tracking down. They are among the founding members of Team Rocket. They could have set themselves up as bosses, but they liked the field work. Their names are Patrick and Jane, and they are the deadliest weapon at Team Rocket's disposal, and Team Rocket was far more cunning than any of us had guessed.

"Liam had set up a sting at their next target, a small Pokecenter outside of Mount Moon. They found out about it, and turned it on Liam, managing to get away without a hitch. The second time they met, they set him up to take the blame. The third time, they almost killed him. And the fourth time... The fourth time, they DID kill him. And since we're a shadow operation, there wasn't anything we could do about it. A man wandering by called an ambulance, and he was taken to a hospital. His heart stopped for thirty seconds on the drive over. If they hadn't been there, if a man hadn't been wandering by in a sheer stroke of luck, your father would have died in a back ally. It was then that we revised our threat assessment of Team Rocket. We kept your father on lead in the case. But, we had to find a way to surprise them. So, we faked his death.

**LIAM**

"Oh. My. God." Violet's stunned proclamation pierced the silence that had surrounded the group. "They faked your death?"

"Yup. For almost six months.

"Five months, three weeks and four days," Deliah interjected.

"And you still married him?" Caroline asked.

Deliah sighed. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for secret agents."

"You didn't know I was a secret agent though. You just knew I had a job that kept me supper busy."

"Still..."

"You must have a thing for super villains too, than," Liam said jokingly.

Deliah coolly looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to retract that statement, Liam?" she said in an emotionless voice.

Liam paled. "Desperately," he uttered.

Deliah nodded, closed her eyes, and took a sip of her drink. "All right," she said, lowering her cup. "I'll allow it this time."

Liam let out a relieved breath.

"But what did you mean?" Caroline asked. "What happened?"

"Well, it was one of the reasons that I came out of hiding," Liam explained somberly, trying to get through the section of the story. "After my 'death', things were...tough on Deliah. The only other real friend she had was Giovanni. So he was there for her, a shoulder to cry on. They started dating not to long after. But then, I found out who was really behind Team Rocket. The real brains of the operation. In retrospect, I could have handled it differently. SHOULD have handled it differently. But, hindsight is 20/20. As soon as I found out, I grabbed Weavile, who had evolved since, and took off...

**FLASHBACK**

Liam burst through the apartment door, letting his unbridled fury out on the yielding wood. It slammed open with a resounding thud, reverberating throughout the floor.

Deliah and Giovanni were curled up together on the couch, talking, a movie on pause. Well, were talking.

When the door flew open, Deliah screamed, getting as far from the door as the couch would let her. Giovanni's hand slid under the cushion, grabbing for something hidden there. Then they recognized who stood in the doorway.

"Liam?" Deliah yelled. "But I thought...You were...We were sure..." All the time, Deliah had started to tear up. She finally stopped talking. "Is it really you?" she finally choked out.

Liam nodded his head once, keeping Giovanni in his sights. Weavile was waiting down the hall for his call. "I know I have a lot of explaining to do, but I need you to trust me right now Deliah. Can you do that?" She nodded. "I need you to get away from Giovanni."

"But why?"

"Please. Just do it."

Deliah looked back and forth between Liam and Giovanni. Finally, she rolled off the couch and took a few steps back. "Liam, what's going on?"

"Ask him," Liam said, nodding at Giovanni.

"Giovanni? What's going on? I'm so confused."

Giovanni stood up from the couch and slowly walked over to him. "I don't know, babe."

"Don't call her that, you piece of scum!" Liam yelled. "And you know exactly what's going on. Don't even try to deny it."

"I honestly don't know," Giovanni said, holding out his hands. "But I'll find out. I know people. Whatever happened to you, I can help. I just need you to calm down."

Liam took a deep breath and took a step forward. He closed the door behind him as he stepped into the room. "I am perfectly calm," Liam said to Giovanni. "And since we're two calm people, why don't you tell me about Team Rocket?"

"Team what?"

"Team Rocket. The people who tried to kill me." Liam took his shirt off, revealing scars on his body. Bullet scars. "What do you think?" Liam asked, ignoring Deliah's shocked gasp. "Like your handy work?"

Voices sounded behind Liam.

"Hey, Deliah, they were out of Snickers ice cream. Is Moose tracks oka..."

Liam whirled around to face the newcomers. To face Patrick and Jane.

Patrick dropped his grocery bag. "You!" he yelled, he and Jane reaching for something behind their backs.

Liam let out a piercing whistle. A flash of black came through the door, and Weavile came to a stop, holding two guns in her hands.

"Persian, Thunder Wave!" The attack took Liam and Weavile completely by surprise. They were completely paralyzed now, unable to do anything but watch. "You couldn't just stay dead, could you?" Giovanni whispered as he walked past him to the door. "We have to leave, now," Giovanni told Patrick and Jane.

"But shouldn't we-" Patrick started.

"Now!" Giovanni yelled, running past them. Patrick and Jane took one last look at Liam before following Giovanni, leaving Liam, Weavile, and Deliah all alone.

**ASH**

"He got in a lot of trouble for that stunt. And I mean a LOT of trouble. We could have stopped Team Rocket then and there if he hadn't gone barging in half-cocked like that. After then, they got a lot more careful. Patrick and Jane essentially fell off the radar. We couldn't find them for anything. Giovanni too. They are remarkably good at hiding their tracks." Bill continued his story. Ash was enraptured by it, feeling like he had never really known his father. This was a side of the man that Ash had never seen or heard of. It was fun. It was exhilarating. It was scary.

"What happened after that?"

"Well, we couldn't keep pretending that Liam was dead, and three months later we pulled him from the Team Rocket file. He was too close to it to keep a level head. Whenever we did a bust though, Liam was on the strike force. It was the least we could do." Bill rubbed his hands together. "I think that's enough for now." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a card, handing it to Ash. "Meet me here tomorrow, and we'll finish this up. I don't know about you, but I'm bushed." Bill stood up and walked out a door, waving. "Night, Ash."

Ash looked down at the card for a second, and then stood up and walked to the counter. "I think I'm ready to go Nurse Joy," he said.

She smiled. "Okay, one moment while I get your Pokemon." She disappeared into the back. A minute later, she came out with a tray of Pokeballs, Pikachu sitting on his spot.

"You ready buddy?" He asked.

Pikachu nodded. "Pika!"

"Then let's get some sleep."

With his friends in hand, he walked out the door into the night time bustle of Cerulean.

~End Chapter.


	13. Regrets

Hello all. How is life for you at (insert resident city here)?

Life has been busy for me. And, as can be seen, it has prevented me from doing the writing I would like in my fic. The last several months especially have been…interesting. Now, looking over it, I have decided to do something that many other fanfic writers have done. I'm going to re-write it. It is woefully out of date with the happenings of the show, and some other little things irked me while reading it through again.

I'm going to start over, following a similar story. There will be some changes, though. Like, setting it in the future a bit more. Honestly, a romance story with young characters doesn't really appeal to me. Not to say young people cant have romance, but that I don't enjoy writing/reading it as much. Maybe adding the new region into it. Obviously updating the Pokemon of the characters. And I'm going to plan it out a bit more. I found that winging an evil plot didn't turn out very well when trying to flesh out moves and thoughts.

I'm going to take the next week or so to make an outline, putting the characters in their place, and determine the ending. Who knows what will happen? Maybe it will change from the original intention of the story. I am going to have a new chapter for my new story within four weeks.

Heres to hoping I can keep the deadline I set for myself. And heres to all of you who read and commented on this. Sorry I couldn't do more with it. Hopefully you will all follow on to the new story.

~The Penguin King


	14. Retractments

You know what I just said? Ignore it. I decided that I hate it soooooooooooo much when people don't finish a story they start. I would be a hypocrite to do the same. So I will continue to write this when I have time. Hopefully you will see a new chapter soon. Within the four weeks that I mentioned previously. And if my muse decides to grace me with her presence, a chapter for a new but similar story as well.

~The Penguin King


End file.
